The United States Supreme Court has ruled the NFL can be considered 32 separate entities and not a single entity when it comes to selling NFL merchandise.
Here is the entire ruling in PDF form.
American Needle is an apparel company that enjoyed a contract with NFL Properties, a business owned by all 32 NFL teams, to sell NFL apparel. American Needle was one of several companies with a similar contract.
In 2002, the NFL signed a 10-year exclusive contract with Reebok to make NFL apparel. This blocked others, like American Needle, from producing NFL apparel. American Needle argued that agreement with Reebok was illegal under federal antitrust law.
The NFL is made up of 32 separate teams and they compete on and off the field. By law, competitors are supposed to compete and not sign exclusive partnerships with companies that could potentially raise the prices potentially hurting the consumer.
"Although NFL teams have common interests such as promoting the NFL brand, they are still separate, profit-maximizi
ng entities, and their interests in licensing team trademarks are not necessarily aligned," Justice Stevens wrote.
The issue is not over; The Supreme Court's unanimous ruling will send it back to the lower courts that originally ruled against American Needle.
But, the ruling is essentially a loss for the league. A January SI.com article explains what could have happened if the courts had ruled the league was a single entity and not 32 separate entities.
Most dramatically, although unlikely given the longstanding legacy of league-labor relations, the Supreme Court could affirm the Seventh Circuit and extend single entity recognition to matters that include those normally subject to collective bargaining, such as players' salaries, free agency rights, and age eligibility restrictions. Leagues could therefore unilaterally restrain players' employment, with players relegated to striking or pursuing job opportunities in leagues abroad as their only means to combat league unilateralism.
We'll have more updates on this ruling shortly.