Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins
Forum Rules and Guidelines

NFL vs. American Needle

MattFancy

By MattFancy
in The Tailgate

Recommended Posts

MattFancy

MattFancy

Posted
Posted

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/07/AR2010010702947.html

http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/06/american-needle-supreme-court-business-sports-nfl.html

http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2009/2009_08_661

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=munson_lester&id=4336261

http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/sportsbiz/2009/jun/29/the-nfl-and-american-needle/

Why is this story not a bigger deal? This doesn't only effect the NFL, but all of major sports. If the SC rules that the NFL and their 32 teams are except from anti-trust laws, that would be horrible.

If the NFL is legally considered a single entity rather than a group of 32 competitors, their argument goes:

--It will stand as a legal monopoly powerful enough to impose a salary structure that reduces player pay and movement.

-- Merchandise prices will skyrocket as the league monopolizes the market.

--The precedent would spread beyond the NFL to other leagues--just watch the baseball commissioners office force the Yankees to sell their YES network as MLB takes control of broadcasting.

What do you guys think? Could this really happen? Would the SC let something like this happen? It could ruin FA and destory players' and coaches' salaries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MattFancy

MattFancy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Simple answer? It's a complicated discussion that the average fan doesn't want to tackle. Yet average fans will have a 20 page thread on Tiger Woods' mistresses.

That could be it. Maybe the fans aren't as well informed on this. Well they should be! This could be huge. The first link I posted was a link to the WaPo article by Drew Brees. Just reading his thoughts make this seem scary. All of sports could change big time if this goes through.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Elessar78

Elessar78

Posted
Posted

I read the Post article this morning. First off, pretty insightful stuff from Brees. Some will mockingly say that he had a ghost writer (doubtful) or that he had an editor (who doesn't?) but I think that's a legit piece and he's officially taken off my dumb jock list.

It is important. I think this is simply a case where the NFL wants to have their cake and eat it too. They want to be able to act as indiv. entities when it suits them and have the luxury of being a single entity if it plays to their advantage. I'm against it, for obvious reasons, but it's a good play for them if they can pull it off. Total pimp hand. BUT an all powerful NFL will ruin it for many fans—they're already on the verge.

As I've always stated, profits cannot keep continuously going up. The season is perfect right now. Perfect length, perfect number of teams. Everythign they want to add on, games in europe and mexico, 18 game schedule—only serve to dilute the product. In addition, from a design standpoint Reebok makes ugly *** gear. I think it should be open to multiple manufacturers so at least there's some choice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MattFancy

MattFancy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I read the Post article this morning. First off, pretty insightful stuff from Brees. Some will mockingly say that he had a ghost writer (doubtful) or that he had an editor (who doesn't?) but I think that's a legit piece and he's officially taken off my dumb jock list.

It is important. I think this is simply a case where the NFL wants to have their cake and eat it too. They want to be able to act as indiv. entities when it suits them and have the luxury of being a single entity if it plays to their advantage. I'm against it, for obvious reasons, but it's a good play for them if they can pull it off. Total pimp hand. BUT an all powerful NFL will ruin it for many fans—they're already on the verge.

As I've always stated, profits cannot keep continuously going up. The season is perfect right now. Perfect length, perfect number of teams. Everythign they want to add on, games in europe and mexico, 18 game schedule—only serve to dilute the product. In addition, from a design standpoint Reebok makes ugly *** gear. I think it should be open to multiple manufacturers so at least there's some choice.

I agree with everything you see. The NFL is gonna ruin this for fans. Look how much the prices of jerseys have gone up since Reebok became the official jersey...I remember buying jerseys in the early 2000s for around $30-$50. Now I don't think you can get an "official" jersey for less than $70-$80. Its the same thing, but now its gone up $30-$40. Why is that? Pretty much the same with any NFL merchandise. Their used to be teams that had Nike, Adidas, Puma, Starter jerseys. Now everyone has Reebok. The NFL is going down a dangerous path with this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MattFancy

MattFancy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
So, Y'all want the Supreme Court to force the NFL to allow any company that wants to, to make and sell NFL merchandise?

[/devil's advocare]

Its not so much that, its more of the fact that they could surpress player movement and salaries of players and coaches. I think its hard for them to say they are one entity when all the teams compete against each other for players, coaches, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Larry

Larry

Posted
Posted
Its not so much that, its more of the fact that they could surpress player movement and salaries of players and coaches. I think its hard for them to say they are one entity when all the teams compete against each other for players, coaches, etc.

The case deals with the NFL's decision as to who's allowed to sell NFL-logo hats. Brought by somebody who want to make NFL hats, themselves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MattFancy

MattFancy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
The case deals with the NFL's decision as to who's allowed to sell NFL-logo hats. Brought by somebody who want to make NFL hats, themselves.

Right, but if they rule that the NFL is one entity, the things I mentioned could happen. If other leagues see that the NFL can be exempt from anti-trust laws, they will do the same.

Amazingly, even 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 -- similar to my asking an official to review an 80-yard pass of mine that the official had already 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.

That's from the Post article by Drew Brees. The NFL already won the case against American Needle, now they want to be known as a single entity. That's what could cause all the problems.

Having the deal with Reebok sucks for the fans because merchandise prices have gone up, but that's not what I'm upset about. I'm upset because the NFL thinks it should be bigger than it already is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LaxBuddy21

LaxBuddy21

Posted
Posted

This really is a tough call because the NFL really is a single entity that oversees 32 individual entities. Its like the CEO of a company with 32 employees. I agree it is better to treat them as individual entities but I can see where the SC is coming from if they called it one entity. The problem is that NFL merchandise and tickets are not a necessary service. They are luxuries and the company should have every right to charge as much as the market will bear. Its not like a single phone company or electric company providing a service that we all need and then having complete control over pricing. If NFL tickets and merchandise gets too expensive, stop buying it! I agree its ridiculously priced but that would be why I dont own a whole lot of NFL merchandise and why I only go to one Redskins game a year!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mojobo

mojobo

Posted
Posted
Right, but if they rule that the NFL is one entity, the things I mentioned could happen. If other leagues see that the NFL can be exempt from anti-trust laws, they will do the same.

MLB has been exempt from antitrust laws for almost a century and no other league has been able to obtain exempt status so thats not exactly true. Ideally (at least in my opinion) the NFL will act as a hybrid where the teams have a set schedule, division and playoff system but that also allows for the teams to compete for labor (coaches, players, management, everyday operations). Obviously theres more to the issue than who gets to sell hats, but a league getting exempt status has been done before...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Elessar78

Elessar78

Posted
Posted

I think the NFL is overplaying it's hand. They think people love NFL football so much that they will go to great lengths to support their team. DirecTV exclusivity, Monday and Thursday night games on cable... I think people are going to start backing away. Obviously there are more casual fans than hardcore fans who will do anything. Make it too hard and the casual fans go away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Larry

Larry

Posted
Posted
I think the NFL is overplaying it's hand. They think people love NFL football so much that they will go to great lengths to support their team. DirecTV exclusivity, Monday and Thursday night games on cable... I think people are going to start backing away. Obviously there are more casual fans than hardcore fans who will do anything. Make it too hard and the casual fans go away.

Oh, agreed.

I want the NFL to lose money on this deal.

(I really want the NFL and Direct TV to lose money on that stupid exclusive deal on Sunday Ticket. Because I want to be able to buy it.)

I just don't think the US Supreme Court should be telling the NFL that they have to allow Brand X Hat Company to make hats for them, whether the NFL wants to or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Xameil

Xameil

Posted
Posted

I have to agree that the NFL is 1 entity with 32 "employees". The NFL is like an employee owned business. The company makes a rule, the employees vote on it, then the NFL enforces it. If you disobey the rule, the employer punishes the employee.

You can argue that it is not a monpoly because its not the only sport to watch. At least that has always been my understanding of a monopoly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Elessar78

Elessar78

Posted
Posted

I can't really think of many successful companies that let their employees vote on a direction. It's really not a monopoly because they don't prohibit other leagues from starting. I haven't thought about it too much, but I feel it's just a bad move on their part.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...