Root Root Root for the ??? Team: Franchise Free Agency and the Business of the NFL

Abstract

Sports have long been deeply intertwined with society but in the past sixty years they have become a major economic industry. While professional sports franchises benefit their owners financially, they are also central to the culture of the city they represent. The dichotomy between sports as an integral part of society and sports as a business has been made apparent through the legal cases surrounding the moves of franchises in the National Football League. This paper analyzes the precedent set by the cases regarding the moves of the Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Colts, and Cleveland Browns. In all three, the courts have favored the sport franchise as a business rather than as a representation of local citizens. These franchise relocations have established a system known as "franchise free agency" in which the sport franchise is legally no different from any other corporation. Over the past thirty years, courts have determined that ownership of a team belongs solely to its legal owner and not to the team's fans or home city.