Category:Sports
No One Can Watch the Chicago Bulls! And Other Reasons Why the MLB, NBA, and NHL Need to Consider Nationalizing Their Media Rights.
Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) are the TV channels that show a sports team’s games in a local area. Due to a demand for sports by television viewers over the past few decades, RSNs created large revenues from local media rights deals (TV contracts) for professional sports leagues. This issue impacts several of the major professional leagues: the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Baseball (MLB). Currently, due to the trend of cord-cutting and a lack of regulation by the league offices, many fans are left without a viable way to watch their local teams, including much of the City of Chicago.
The End of the ‘No Fund League’: NFL Allows Private Equity Fund Team Ownership
On August 22, 2024, the owners of the National Football League (NFL) teams voted to allow private equity funds to purchase ownership in the teams with 31 out of the 32 team owners voting in favor of the change. Critics of the change raise concerns that private equity investments will cause teams to more aggressively prioritize profit over quality, leading to a poorer fan experience. However, the league has drafted the change with appropriate safeguards to limit the influence of private equity owners while still achieving the goal of increasing funds available to teams to promote stability and growth throughout the league.
Tackling Concussions – How the NFL is Addressing Player Safety
On Thursday, September 12th, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained his third career concussion during a game against the Buffalo Bills. Following his previous concussions, the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) worked diligently to implement new protocols aimed at enhancing player safety and reducing the risk of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). However, this latest incident has reignited online debate about player safety, TBIs, and the NFL’s implementation of Guardian Caps at training camps and practices.
The ACC’s Anti-Competition Contracts: Why Schools Continue to Fight the Conference’s Exit Regulations
In December 2023, Florida State University’s Board of Trustees filed suit against the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) challenging the ACC’s grant of rights and “draconian” exit penalties. About three months later in March 2024, Clemson University filed a complaint against the conference challenging those same exit penalties and grant of rights issues. In response, the ACC filed legal challenges against both schools, arguing they agreed to the contract terms and were not allowed to leave the conference or challenge those agreements. Courts will have to look to the ACC’s grant of rights agreement, Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and State antitrust laws in determining who will succeed in this lawsuit. Several other schools have gotten around their conference’s grant of rights agreements in the Big 10, and Pac-12. However, unlike those conferences’ grants of rights agreements expiring in 2024 and 2025, the ACC’s agreement lasts until June 2036. Regardless, it is going to be difficult for these schools to succeed in challenging the agreements in court.
Congress Needs to Pass a Nationwide NIL Law
Matthew Sluka, starting quarterback for the then-undefeated University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) football team, elected to use his redshirt designation and sit out for the rest of the 2024-25 football season, claiming that he was not paid the entirety of the $100,000 NIL deal he was recruited on. Sluka is now the first player to sit out in-season because of NIL disputes. However, it is very likely he will not be the last. Sluka claims that he was promised the $100,000 by the offensive coordinator. The school and team dispute the claims by Sluka, saying they had never promised him any money and the $3,000 he had received was for honoring a separate NIL engagement that summer. UNLV is claiming that Sluka and his representation’s financial demands to keep playing are against NCAA rules and Nevada state law. NCAA rules and Nevada law stipulate that a player cannot receive NIL just to play for or attend a school, there must be quid pro quo, (sign autographs, meet and greets, etc.) in order to profit from their name, image or likeness. Regardless of the underlying truth, Sluka’s situation has highlighted exactly why the NCAA cannot regulate NIL anymore.
Does College Athletics Need a New Regulatory Body?
In 2021, the Supreme Court decided N.C.A.A. v Alston. This struck down the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) previous prohibition on collegiate athletes earning money on their own Name Image and Likeness (NIL). There is now debate as to what the regulations around NIL should be and who should be making them. The NCAA is currently under fire for their lack of regulations on Name Image and Likeness (NIL) deals for collegiate athletes. Historically, outside of a scholarship, an athlete could receive no compensation for their athletic ability or participation in collegiate athletics.Patrick Chomczyk, a previous editor, wrote a blog in Sept. of 2021, after the Supreme Court Decision of N.C.A.A. v. Alston. He predicted that the NCAA would implement its own rules that comply with the Supreme Court ruling and Federal legislation could follow. In the wake of Alston, the NCAA has only instituted a few rules, all centered around keeping the concept of amateurism alive. Amateurism is the current model of college sports where student athletes are not to receive compensation for their athletic activities. This concept has been repeatedly challenged in recent years.
The New World of Sports Gambling: A Need for More Rules and Regulations on a National Level
It has been quite the whirlwind since the 2018 landmark case of Murphy, Governor of New Jersey v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. It ultimately declared The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 to be in violation of the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The act effectively outlawed sports betting across the nation, with a few exceptions. The Supreme Court held that PASPA conflicted with the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine of the Tenth Amendment. Additionally, the Court held that the power to regulate this type of activity must be reserved solely to the several states. Since this decision, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting in various forms, with 29 states authorizing online or mobile bets. The rapid growth of the sports gambling industry has brought opportunities for both sports fans, as well as new revenue sources for states. However, it has also exemplified the urgent need for more federal regulation. There are newfound risks to the integrity of sports, a rise in the rates of gambling addiction, all while it becomes increasingly difficult to ensure fair market practice regulations.
How the Latest NIL Rulings Impact the NCAA
The Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) landscape in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has been constantly changing since its enactment in June of 2021. Over the last month, the NCAA has lost a number of legal battles involving the rights of student athletes under the policies created by the NCAA. First, a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Director ruled that members of the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team were employees, and therefore have the right to unionize. Most recently, a Tennessee court granted a preliminary injunction that prevents the NCAA from enforcing its NIL rules for compensation for recruits. This injunctions comes as a part of a federal lawsuit claiming that the rules violate antitrust laws. Each ruling has unique implications on the future of the NCAA and the lobbying the organization has been doing in Congress for federal regulation.
Regulating AI Used to Predict and Prevent Sports Injuries: A Crucial Need
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in sports could revolutionize the way athletic injuries are predicted and managed. Notably, a variety of AI companies have developed software that forecasts potential injuries, possibly prolonging athletes’ careers. This technology analyzes data about the biomechanics of players, their frequency of play or training, and past injuries to identify patterns, find potential causes, and predict future injuries. There is immense value in preventing injuries in athletics for players, teams, and fans alike. It would therefore make sense that everyone is eager to utilize the findings of AI, but without regulation this could cause more harm than good.
Protecting the Sport or Protecting the Person: Why NIL Deals for College Athletes Need Federal Regulation
Mayhem has ensued in the world of college sports since July 1, 2021, when college athletes could first benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) based on an interim policy passed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Chaos emerged after a number of states adopted policies regarding athlete’s name, image, and likeness. This forced the NCAA to pass a policy allowing such deals across the board, while stating in their release that the organization would continue to work with Congress to create a solution on the national level. However, two years later, no such solution has come to fruition, and in that time, states that have a large investment in the success of their college sports have been able to create or edit their legislation to benefit the performance of their teams.