After nearly three hours of silence that some regarded as deafening, the NFL has spoken in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the American Needle case.
In contrast to the NFL Players Association, which has declared victory, the league has downplayed the unanimous ruling that the NFL is not a single entity when it comes to negotiating licensing deals for apparel.
“In today’s decision, the Supreme Court recognized that ‘special characteristics’ of professional sports leagues, including the need for competitive balance, ‘may well justify’ business decisions that among independent competitors would otherwise be unlawful,” the statement reads. “The court noted that the NFL teams’ shared interest in making the league successful and cooperating to produce NFL football provide ‘a perfectly sensible justification for making a host of collective decisions.’
“The decision will simply result in American Needle’s claim being sent back to the federal district court in Chicago, where the case will resume in its early stages. We remain confident we will ultimately prevail because the league decision about how best to promote the NFL was reasonable, pro-competitive, and entirely lawful. The Supreme Court’s decision has no bearing on collective bargaining, which is governed by labor law.”
That last sentence is the most important. If the league had won the American Needle case, the argument that the 32 teams represent a single entity surely would have been used in other contexts. Moving forward, the league’s argument surely will be that a ruling made as to apparel deals has no bearing in other business contexts.
The league may have a point. But before we get too far down that path, we need to post today’s PFT Daily, which explains the link between the American Needle case and the labor deal.
