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Antitrust Analysis of Sports Leagues

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  • Pelnar, Gregory

Abstract

I present an overview of the antitrust literature on sports leagues, with particular emphasis on the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, as well as on sanctioning organizations such as NASCAR. I review the major antitrust court decisions, the commentaries of the leading antitrust experts on these decisions, and the extensive sports economics literature touching on issues raised in these cases, particularly empirical studies assessing the anticompetitive and procompetitive effects of various league rules and policies. I also review the broader industrial organization literature on issues such as factors affecting the stability of joint ventures. I conclude with a summary of proposals for addressing the monopoly power of sports leagues.

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Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 5382.

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Date of creation: 12 Oct 2007
Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:5382
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Keywords: antitrust; sports leagues;

Find related papers by JEL classification:

  • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
  • L4 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies
  • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance

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Cited by:

  1. Oliver Budzinski, 2011. "The Institutional Framework for Doing Sports Business: Principles of EU Competition Policy in Sports Markets," Working Papers 108/11, University of Southern Denmark, Department of Environmental and Business Economics.
  2. Pelnar, Gregory, 2009. "Competition and Cooperation between Professional Sports Franchises: The Impact on Ticket Prices," MPRA Paper 17787, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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