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What The Supremes Should Be Thinking When They Review American Needle

Even though the Solicitor General advised the Supreme Court not to grant cert in the case of American Needle Inc. v. National Football League, the Supreme Court decided that it will review the case and see whether the NFL is immune from Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act for the licensing of intellectual property.  As I mentioned in a post on July 1,

Are the NFL and its member teams a single entity or do all teams act in a joint venture (similar to a partnership)?  The NFL wants the Supremes to hold that the teams and the NFL as a whole, is a single entity for all purposes and exempt from Section 1, not just in the licensing of intellectual property.  American Needle wants the Court to hold that the teams do not act as a single entity, and should not be restrained from trade under Section 1 of the Antitrust Act.

I tried to wrap up the case in one paragraph, which obviously did not do justice to the breadth of the issue.  So luckily for everyone, one of our favorite Sports Law professors, Michael McCann, has put together a law review note to appear in a future edition of the Yale Law Journal.

The United State Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has held that the NFL and its teams operate as a single entity when it comes to apparel sales.  Unless the U.S. Supreme Court reverses that decision, the holding will serve as solid precedent.  McCann believes that the Court should reverse and reject the NFL’s single entity defense.  As McCann notes in Part IV., A Recommendation to the United States Supreme Court,

The Court should reject a general availability of the single entity defense for professional sports leagues. Those leagues, however, should retain an opportunity to obtain exemption from section 1 in limited and carefully-defined circumstances.

Give the paper a read.  Do you agree?

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.