First Page
641
Abstract
This note argues that the League must reform the current revenue sharing model in order to correct the widening revenue gap between the lowest and highest revenue teams, which if not adequately addressed soon could severely impair the future popularity and success of the NFL. Part II describes the emergence of revenue sharing in the NFL; its evolution due to past challenges initiated by profit-oriented owners; and the details of the current revenue sharing system in place today. Part III establishes how the emergence of unshared "local revenue" has eroded the NFL's collective mentality, thereby causing a variety of problems for the League. Part IV proposes a solution intended to effectively alleviate the League's growing financial inequalities while at the same time maintaining the important incentives created by a reasonable amount of unshared revenue. In particular, this section proposes a redistributive formula that allows for a healthy level of unshared local revenue, but simultaneously prevents extreme financial inequalities by redistributing excessive local revenue to those teams most in need.
Recommended Citation
Clay Moorhead,
Revenue Sharing and the Salary Cap in the NFL: Perfecting the Balance Between NFL Socialism and Unrestrained Free-Trade,
8 Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law
641
(2020)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol8/iss3/6