There's No 'I' in 'League': Professional Sports Leagues and the Single Entity Defense

Abstract:     
This paper examines the split of authority regarding the single entity status of professional sports leagues under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Specifically, the paper argues that outside of labor disputes, sports leagues should be presumed to be single entities. Part I argues that professional sports leagues are single entities in disputes regarding league-wide, nonlabor policy. In particular, the focus of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence on economic reality rather than organizational form necessitates a finding that professional sports leagues are single entities in nonlabor disputes. Part II argues that professional sports leagues are not single entities for purposes of labor disputes; sports leagues, on the whole, do not possess a unity of interest for labor matters. More importantly, the existing precedent outside of the professional sports context carefully balancing the competing interests of labor and antitrust law should apply to professional sports. The paper concludes that a general classification scheme should be adopted in which professional sports leagues are presumed to be single entities, with an exception for labor disputes.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 26

Keywords: Sports Law, Single Entity Status, Copperweld, Sherman Act, Professional Sports Leagues, National Basketball Association, NBA, National Hockey League, NHL, National Football League, NFL, Major League Soccer, MLS, Antitrust Law, Labor Law

JEL Classification: K21, K31, K39

Accepted Paper Series