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1997 Wis. L. Rev. 1047 (1997)
Brown v. Pro Football, Inc. - The Nonstatutory Exemption from Antitrust Liability Becomes a Management Weapon

handle is hein.journals/wlr1997 and id is 1063 raw text is: NOTES BROWN V. PRO FOOTBALL, INC.- THE NONSTATUTORY EXEMPTION FROM ANTITRUST LIABILITY BECOMES A MANAGEMENT WEAPON CHRIS L. DICKERSON* I. INTRODUCTION In Brown v. Pro Football, Inc.' the United States Supreme Court was faced with a difficult and complex issue: Who wins when the competing interests of antitrust and labor law collide? In Brown, the Court held that in the context of collective bargaining negotiations, antitrust law defers almost completely to labor law. This outcome is somewhat surprising for two reasons: (1) the antitrust laws are some of the nation's most powerful and give way to other laws only in the most extreme cases;2 and (2) the labor laws were designed to protect and support organized labor by limiting the power of employers to use competition among laborers to suppress wage levels and working conditions.3 The Court's holding in Brown produces exactly the opposite effect. Brown resulted from the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the owners of the National Football League teams (Owners) and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) in 1987. During the negotiations for a new contract, the NFL proposed that each NFL team create a developmental squad of up to six players.5 These players would be used during practice and would be a reserve from which the teams could draw in the case of an injury to a regular roster player.6 The sticking point in the plan was the Owners' * B.S., United States Naval Academy, 1984; M.A., Georgetown University, 1991; J.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Class of 1998. Thanks to my family and friends for their love and support, especially to my wife Karen whose support in this endeavor, as in all things, makes it complete. 1. 116 S. Ct. 2116 (1996). 2. National Gerimed. Hosp. v. Blue Cross, 452 U.S. 378, 388 (1981) (holding that implied antitrust immunity can be justified only by a convincing showing of clear repugnancy between the Sherman Act and the competing statute). 3. Brown, 116 S. Ct. at 2128-29 (Stevens, J., dissenting). 4. Id. at 2119. 5. Brief for Petitioners at 7, Brown v. Pro Football, Inc., 116 S. Ct. 2116 (1996) (No. 95-388). 6. Id.

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