Greenberg Traurig Alert: Supreme Court Unanimously Finds NFL’s Joint Licensing Activities are Subject to Antitrust Rule of Reason

In the valedictory antitrust opinion of Justice John Paul Stevens, joined by all eight other justices, the Supreme Court held on May 24, 2010, in American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League, et al., that collective licensing activities of member teams of the National Football League (NFL) constitute concerted action that is not immune from antitrust scrutiny as that of a "single entity" and therefore must be evaluated to determine whether it constitutes an unreasonable restraint of trade under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Ending nearly two decades of victories for Sherman Act defendants at the Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit's affirmance of summary judgment for the NFL was reversed and the case was remanded for consideration of the conduct under the Rule of Reason.

View or download the entire article by Scott Martin of Greenberg Traurig by clicking on the link at the top of the post.