Drew Brees, a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. weights against the NFL in the case in front of the Supreme Court – Washington Post:
“The case involves a multimillion-dollar deal struck in 2000 between the National Football League and Reebok that grants Reebok the exclusive rights to make hats, sweatshirts and other gear with NFL team logos. What does that deal have to do with the ability of my teammates and me to perform our jobs and entertain football fans around the country? Potentially, quite a bit: The gains we fought for and won as players over the years could be lost, while the competition that runs through all aspects of the sport could be undermined.”
As it stands today and because of the “free agency” agreement with the player union, NFL is a strange hybrid. On one hand there is a total monopoly in regards to merchandising, TV, video rights, etc. On the other hand every player (and a team) is a unique separate enterprise and even employer agreements with each of the NFL players are tailor-made. While in majority of business a worker enters a standard agreement for a company. If NFL is to act as a state it should take a cut (tax) from any mechanize sold but not to restrict and dictate who will have a monopoly on hats. This also means that a game could be shown on any channel, as long as a tax or fee is payed to the NFL, instead of restricting a game or even a Superbowl to a single network. Drew explains:
“Amazingly, after the NFL won the case, it asked the Supreme Court to dramatically expand the ruling and determine that the teams act as a single entity not only for marketing hats and gear, but for pretty much everything the league does. It was an odd request — as if I asked an official to review an 80-yard pass of mine that had already been ruled a touchdown. The notion that the teams function as a single entity is absurd; the 32 organizations composing the NFL and the business people who run them compete with unrelenting intensity for players, coaches and, most of all, the loyalty of fans.”
Incidentally there was a competing football league XFL that played only one season and failed. Go Saints!
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