A decision will be made this year on whether the NFL will become a single entity. Teams are opposed to the idea for numerous reasons. If the NFL becomes a single entity, there will be no salary cap, or salary floor for players. The tug-o-war battle between teams negotiating for a player may become obsolete. Players do not have much incentive to play, besides for the love of the game. In addition to negotiation issues, there is always a risk that a monopoly could develop. The possible outcomes of a monopoly developing are best put into words by Dave Zirin, a sport’s editor for The Nation. He writes, “disloyal franchises, overpriced merchandize, unbridled greed…The NFL already acts like it has diplomatic immunity. It feeds at the public trough for stadium construction, charges a fortune for tickets, parking, souvenirs and--most tragically--beer, and accepts public input about as well as the CIA does. It is also about as transparent.” All of these possibilities could change the general public’s attendance at games, support through merchandise, and attitude toward the industry as a whole.
The overriding issues regarding the Supreme Court’s decision with the NFL case parallel strongly with ideas of class, capitalism and commodity. Karl Marx was the first person to recognize class as an economic concept. He believed that class could be broken down into two categories. First was the capitalist class, or those who own the means of production. The second was the proletariat class, or the workers, who do not own the means of production. Developing this idea further, George Sage, author of Power and Ideology in American Sport, presents a hierarchy of social class comprised of three classes. The classes are the capitalist class, middle class, and working class. Focusing on Sage’s highest level socially, the capitalist class, it is a class “elite in terms of wealth, income, ownership, privilege, and power; members of this class hold extensive control over the economic system…” (37). In the NFL case, the NFL is the capitalist, and the owners, players, and coaches become the proletariats. The NFL will own the means of production and have colossal amounts of power. The NFL will control the marketing of goods and services, which will ultimately leave the owners, players and coaches as commodities. They will directly advertise the merchandise and team, but not benefit greatly on an individual level from the profits.
Ultimately, the NFL becomes a sort of capitalist firm. Sage writes, “Capitalist firms exist to pursue their own profit maximization, not the collective aspirations of people” (152). As the NFL grows in power, the owners, players and coaches lose theirs. They become subordinate, since they no longer have the means to produce on their own.
If the NFL becomes a single entity, it will affect my experiences. As a Green Bay Packers fan, I am accustomed to the way the Packers are run, the way they advertise, and the merchandise they sell. If prices go up, or other dimensions change, it could change whether I go to the games, and overall to what level I support the team. For the teams and consumers sake, I hope this case is dismissed, and the teams remain governed the way that they have been.
