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Monopoly Sports Leagues

By  |  March 7, 2016

Posted by Social Science Research Network

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    Monopoly Sports Leagues

    Stephen F. Ross (Pennsylvania State University)

    Abstract:     This Article argues that the government should break up both Major League Baseball and the NFL to provide for competing economic entities in each sport. Part I details the harm monopoly sports leagues cause in several different markets and explains why a competitive league structure can correct such harms. Part II discusses why regulatory solutions are poor substitutes for competition as a means of redressing these harms. Part III explains why neither baseball nor football is a “natural monopoly” and argues that no persuasive evidence suggests that rival leagues cannot exist in those sports. Part IV examines how the antitrust laws provide a workable framework for regulating conduct between competing leagues. Finally, Part V explains why legislation effectuating the divestiture is preferable to judicial decree.