Competing Single-Entity Tests in American Needle v. NFL and Their Implications for Sports Leagues and Other Joint Ventures
CPI Antitrust Journal, Vol. 2, March 2010
13 Pages Posted: 3 Oct 2010
Date Written: October 1, 2010
Abstract
In American Needle v. National Football League, the U.S. Supreme Court was presented with a number of tests for deciding whether the NFL and its member clubs are a “single-entity” with respect to the collective licensing of club trademarks and logos. If so, their activities would not constitute an antitrust conspiracy since an entity cannot engage in a conspiracy with itself, and thus the activities of the single-entity would lie beyond the reach of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. I examine the alternative tests presented to the Court, discuss some problems with each test, and note that the test endorsed by the Court, if any, could have implications for other joint ventures such as payment-card networks and medical care organizations.
Keywords: antitrust, sports leagues, single-entity
JEL Classification: K21, L41, L83
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation