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Volume 5 Number 1 - Fall
2003
How the Home Team Can Keep
From Getting Sacked: A City's Best Defense to
Franchise Free Agency in Professional Football
Bradley J. Stein
In recent years, several NFL teams, including the
Los Angeles Rams and Houston Oilers, have moved to
cities offering huge financial incentives in the
form of stadium revenue packages. In this article,
Bradley Stein explores this issue of team relocation
and offers ideas on how cities can prevent their NFL
franchises from leaving.
As the NFL has seen its popularity soar in the past
few years, cities without NFL franchises have
convinced teams to move by building publicly
financed stadiums. Additionally, since most revenue
is shared equally among the NFL teams, cities offer
owners of unshared revenue, which is raised from
concessions, advertising and luxury boxes, allowing
teams to move from larger markets (L.A. and Houston)
to smaller markets (Oakland and Nashville).
Stein also notes that the Raiders original move from
Oakland to Los Angeles helped pave the way for the
franchise free agency the NFL faces right now. In
that move, the NFL owners voted against allowing the
Raiders to move, but the Raiders won an anti-trust
lawsuit permitting the relocation. In the aftermath
of this legislation, the NFL and the owners have
shown little interest in preventing teams from
moving. Additionally, cities find it difficult to
protect themselves contractually since the teams
have all of the bargaining power.
Without the help of the league or owners, cities
will need to rely on local and state levels to
protect themselves. Stein explains how Cleveland was
able to retain its team’s name and traditions
through local rallies and support from Congressional
representatives. Stein also explains how an eminent
domain claim might be the best method a city can use
to keep the owner from relocating a team, especially
in light of how the Supreme Court is currently
interpreting the Commerce Clause.
Attorneys As
Athlete-Agents: Reconciling the ABA Rules of
Professional Conduct with the Practice of Athlete
Representation
Mark Doman
Comment: A (Not So) Safe
Harbor: Substantial Proportionality as a Measure of
Effective Accomodation
Tshaka C. Randall
Note: The Cincinnati
Bengals' Legal Obligation to Win: A Case Study for
the Public Funding of Stadiums and a Roadmap for
Municipal Investment
Elan Daniels
Note: Life After Napster:
Will Its Successors Share Its Fate?
H. Michael Drumm
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