Football fans, before you buy your next team jersey, read the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in American Needle v. National Football League. Handing the teams a "Go back 5 spaces card," the court said that

decisions by the NFLP regarding the teams’ separately owned intellectual property constitute concerted action. Thirty-two teams operating independently through the vehicle of the NFLP are not like the components of a single firm that act to maximize the firm’s profits. The teams remain separately controlled, potential competitors  with economic interests that are distinct from NFLP’s financial well-being. …

The fact that NFL teams share an interest in making the entire league successful and profitable, and that they must cooperate in the production and scheduling of games, provides a perfectly sensible justification for making a host of collective decisions. But the conduct at issue in this case is still concerted activity under the Sherman Act that is subject to §1 analysis.

RL