Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in American Needle v. NFL , a case that has been dubbed the “Super Bowl of sports litigation” and could significantly affect the structure and operation of the National Football League and other professional sports leagues.
The case, which involves a challenge to the NFL’s exclusive apparel deal with Reebok International Ltd., addresses a fundamental question in sports law: Do professional sports leagues constitute a single entity for purposes of Section 1 of the Sherman Act? This section explicitly requires an agreement, and an agreement requires two entities — a single entity cannot agree with itself. Thus, as a matter of law, if a sports league is a single entity, it cannot violate Section 1.
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