On July 1, the National Basketball Association (NBA) instituted a lockout when its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expired and negotiations, which began in January 2010, stalled. Over the past four months, owners and players have made multiple attempts to reach an agreement with no success. On October 10, NBA Commissioner David Stern canceled the first two weeks of the season and stated that both sides are still, “very far apart on virtually all issues… we just have a gulf that separates us.” A number of issues have been discussed including: revenue sharing, salary caps, luxury penalties, guaranteed contract lengths, and player exceptions. The owners and players have three ways to resolve these issues: bargaining, mediation, and/or legal action. [More]

With sports, there’s always something to complain about. My current complaints include the Bears’ (just about everything about them), the Illini’s expertise at self-destructing halfway through a game and the Chargers inability to play in the beginning of the season. In recent years, complaints have increased against the current NCAA system for college football. While people cry out for a playoff system (similar to that of professional football), the BCS remains in place. However, despite the BCS remaining as it is, the college divisions have begun to shift. Whether it’s for prestige, money or some combination of both, teams are switching, joining and leaving conferences. As an alum of the University of Southern California, I am most interested to see what Utah and Colorado have to offer the new Pac-12. Regardless of their reasons for joining, I remain hopeful that the additions will make the new Pac-12 a stronger, more resilient conference. As with most things in life, only time will tell. [More]

The Supreme Court is expected to release its decision in American Needle, Inc. v. NFL in the near future after hearing oral arguments on January 13, 2010. In this case, the National Football League is arguing that its teams operate as a single-entity and therefore cannot be held in violation of anti-trust laws. The result of this case is likely to have its impact on other major sports leagues as well. While many of the implications for the NFL have been discussed through coverage of the case, this article suggests specifically how those changes would affect fans of the National Hockey League. [More]

Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) are a relatively new concept that attempts to, and has been successful in, creating revenue streams for facility construction. However, this concept is not without widespread controversy, and the practice is under attack by sports writers and fans alike. This article gives a brief history into the practice and suggests some alternative measures that can be employed to reduce the use of PSL system. [More]

The Chicago Cubs are the highest drawing baseball team in the Arizona Cactus League and earn nearly $52 million for the state of Arizona annually. The team’s current deal with Mesa, Arizona allows the Cubs to buy out of its agreement to play in Mesa after 2012. As a result, the Cubs have received pitches from groups in both Arizona and Florida trying to persuade them to choose their state for the site of their new spring training facility. Initially, an Arizona House committee proposed legislation that would approve a $1 surcharge on auto rentals in the Phoenix area and an 8 percent surcharge on the tickets to all Cactus League games in order to fund the new facility. This raises two significant issues. First, do stadiums actually have these positive results for local economies or do they benefit another party? And second, in light of recent case law, is a tax incentive for the Cubs to stay in Arizona a constitutional option? [More]

As pitchers prepare to report to training camp, America’s favorite pastime is gearing up for the 2010 season. While players begin competing and vying for a coveted spot on the team roster, many Americans participating in fantasy baseball leagues are preparing to draft their own “dream team.” Each year fantasy baseball leagues gain more attention and participation, with an average of 29.9 million active users spending over $800 million dollars directly on fantasy sports products as well as $3 billion of sporting goods. [1] Within this lucrative field, the Major League Baseball Association (“MLB”) as well as the Major League Baseball Players Association (“MLBPA”) worry that the financial success of the fantasy sports industry may hinder potential revenue possibilities. Through the use of professional baseball players’ performance stats to determine the overall success of the fantasy teams, issues of copyright infringement as well as violation of the right to publicity arise, resulting in lawsuits against licensing deals and the overall leagues. Although professional athletes claim to have a right of publicity in their name as well as performance statistics, fantasy baseball leagues should continue as is because performance statistics are not copyrightable under the Federal Copyright Act and litigation in this matter would far exceed the benefits received by the MLB. [More]

States and cities tax professional athletes in multiple ways. A traditional method, which applies to athletes and non-athletes alike, is income taxation by the state in which an individual resides. A second method, utilized by twenty states, is to tax athletes when they participate in games other than in the state they reside. [1] This second method is commonly referred to as the “jock tax.” Since the inception of the jock tax, inequality from state to state has been a prevalent issue. The combination of the jock tax and differences between how states tax its residents may make some cities in the United States and in Canada more attractive than others. At the same time, but for a few adjustments that are made to a team’s salary cap, the teams in the major sports are limited to the same payroll as the other teams in the sport. Given the salary cap, teams in hockey, football, baseball, and basketball may find it difficult to compete with teams with more attractive tax situations. To further increase parity in the major sports, changes should be made to salary caps in the major sports based on the different tax situations created by different states. [More]

Jerseys, DVD box sets and posters are just a few of the ways the NCAA and its member institutions use college athletes to increase the value of their brand. This has always been the way the NCAA has operated, and very few college athletes raised this issue. However, within about the last 15 years games such as Electronic Arts’ NCAA Football franchise have imitated player likenesses to create one of the most successful games in the video game industry. Everyone is getting a share of the money, except those individuals who are being exploited: the college athlete. This article discusses the problem of publicity rights with college athletes as well as offers a possible solution. [More]

The sports business industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the United States. In fact, the Sports Business Journal estimates the size of the sports business industry to be $213 billion in the United States alone. [1] Furthermore, sports business law is a dynamic field of law with new issues arising on an almost daily basis due to courts decisions, new legislation, and regulation. [2] One piece of new legislation, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), [3] will have a profound impact on employment decisions in professional sports. This article discusses the implications of GINA on professional sports: specifically, part II of the articles discusses GINA in detail, part III discusses GINA’s impact on professional sports, part IV discusses GINA’s economic impact on professional sports, and part V provides some concluding remarks. [More]

In the struggling economic climate, many corporations have sought bankruptcy relief. Numerous financial institutions such as the automobile industry and electronic corporations have become accustomed to seeking such restructuring aid and most recently, even the sports world is no longer immune. In October 2009, the Chicago Cubs organization became yet another victim in this economic downturn as the Tribune Company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the baseball team. Although many companies have sought relief due to monetary struggles, “‘You don’t have to be insolvent to be in bankruptcy [. . .] All you need is a legitimate business reason.’” [1] The Chicago Cubs seek reprieve as a way to sell the organization in a tight credit market to an eager buyer, not willing to take on the debt of the parent corporation to its creditors. Through the sale of the Chicago Cubs, the organization can look forward to new ownership, ward off all creditors to the parent corporation, and possibly one day shed their “lovable loser” status. [2] [More]