Reevaluating the Curt Flood Act of 1998

Abstract:     
This essay reconsiders the Curt Flood Act of 1998 - Congress' first and only legislation curtailing Major League Baseball's longstanding and unique exemption from federal antitrust law - a little over a decade after its passage. The essay argues that although commentators were extremely skeptical of the efficacy of the Act at its time of passage, the legislation has nevertheless impacted the sport of baseball by changing the tenor of labor negotiations between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. By effectuating this change in labor relations, the essay concludes that the Curt Flood Act has helped to usher in baseball's longest sustained period of labor peace in nearly four decades.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 12

Keywords: Sports law, Professional Baseball, Curt Flood Act, Antitrust, Labor law, Major League Baseball, MLB

JEL Classification: K21, K31, K39

Accepted Paper Series