Sports Fans Coalition Praises Supreme Court’s Unanimous Decision

Rejecting NFL’s Plea For Antitrust Protection

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the National Football League in its pursuit of broad antitrust law protection.  The court rejected the NFL’s request to be considered as one entity rather than 32 individual teams when negotiating contracts in this landmark case, American Needle v. NFL. “This is a victory of Super Bowl proportions for America’s sports fans,” said Sports Fans Coalition Chairman David Goodfriend.  “A unanimous Supreme Court told the professional sports leagues in no uncertain terms that leagues must live by the same rules as any other business.”

The high court overturned a lower court’s decision against regional hat-maker American Needle which complained that the NFL’s exclusive 10-year contract with Reebok restricted competition amongst NFL merchandisers. “Although NFL teams have common interests such as promoting the NFL brand,” said Justice John Paul Stevens, “They are still separate, profit-maximizing entities, and their interests in licensing team trademarks are not necessarily aligned.”

While the parameters of the case were subject to interpretation, sports fans stood to lose considerable purchasing power when it came to buying their favorite player’s jersey and perhaps when subscribing to a particular NFL television package.  “For sports fans,” Goodfriend stated, “This means that professional leagues will not be able to shut out fans or jack up prices for tickets, merchandise, or televised games unchecked by competition.”

Read SFC board member Dave Zirin’s article published in The Nation magazine here.

Read Drew Brees’ Op Ed published in The Washington Post prior to his testimony in the Supreme Court in January here.