A Structural Overview of Competition Law as Applied to U.S. Major League Team Sports

Article published in Concurrences Journal N° 2-2014, Art. N° 65481, May 2014.

This article aims to assist readers with a big picture overview of the structure of major league team sports in the United States, and how competition law has applied to these industries. Most people are aware of some aspect of how the sports business operates, whether through hearing of a Champions League football match or the marketing efforts in the United States surrounding “Super Bowl Sunday”—the day of the championship game in American football, a game very different from football known to the rest of the world. However, a broader perspective sheds light on how these sports in the U.S. arrived at their current condition, and what may take place in the future. It is no overstatement to say that competition law is fundamental to having any knowledge of how major league team sports have developed in the U.S.