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NFL Teams Sports Law

No Trust For The Seventh Circuits Antitrust Ruling

I meant to post this a long time ago, but I have been so busy as of late, that I could not find the time to read through Gabe Feldman‘s new piece, The Puzzling Persistence of the Single Entity Argument for Sports Leagues: American Needle and the Supreme Court’s Opportunity to Reject a Flawed Defense.  I have finally read through it, and the Director of the Tulane Sports Law Program and future panelist at the 2010 UF Sports Law Symposium, did a fantastic job in advance of the Supreme Court’s eventual ruling on American Needle v. National Football League.  Will the SCOTUS decide that the NFL is a single entity when it comes to the licensing of its intellectual property and thus make the NFL exempt from scrutiny under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, or will the Court reverse the decision of the Seventh Circuit, which upheld the NFL’s single entity status?

Gabe Feldman fears that granting the NFL single entity status will led to the league acting in an anti-competitive manner.  He believes that the Seventh Circuit’s decision should be overturned in this case and that no professional sports league should ever be labeled a a single entity.

I suggest that you have a background on the actual American Needle case before reading Feldman’s article, which is the first link on this post.  Also, make sure you section off some time, because Feldman’s piece is not a quick read.  For prior SAB posts on the topic:

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.