Fabiel Ortiz
June 8, 2015
NWFL
As the new commissioner of the National Women’s Football League or NWFL, I am considering structuring the NWFL as a single entity rather than as a traditional league such as the National Football League (NFL) or the Major League Baseball (MLB). Traditional structures are nonprofit incorporated or unincorporated associations of clubs, where each member club has separate as well as independent ownership of said club. Depending on which sport the club is in, there will be different rules concerning club ownership. There are advantages as well as disadvantages to being a traditional structure. The main advantage of a traditional structure is that it’s promise for potential profits for anyone who wants to make an investment. The main disadvantage of a traditional structure is the potential liability of the necessary agreements among the owners in that they go by “for the good of the league as a whole.” Single entity structure is different than the traditional structure. In a single entity structure, teams argue that they are a single entity because it offers a league-generated entertainment product rather than a collection of individual entities in an economic competition with one another (Sharp). There have been cases about single entity structures. One case was when a group of soccer players from the MLS sued the league. The players stated that the MLS used the single entity structure as an attempt to restrain any trades by limiting economic competition among teams as well as the MLS was depressing player salaries. In the end, the courts ruled against the players upholding the validity of the single entity structure. The way the MLS is set up is unique in that it is a combination of elements from a single entity structure along with some elements from a traditional structure league. This case was Fraser v. Major League Soccer in 2002.
There was another case that dealt with the single entity structure. The case was Brown v. Pro-Football, Inc. From this case, the Supreme Court stated that professional sports clubs must cooperate for their economic survival and are not completely independent competitors (Sharp). From this case, the supreme court didn’t rule on whether a league is a group of cooperating separates entities to the Sherman Act or if an integrated single entity that doesn’t compete with itself, making it nit subject to the Sherman Act (Sharp). But what the Supreme Court did rule from the case was that any decisions from the lower courts will provide the primary legal guidance for all sports leagues. The National Women’s Football League should be a single entity structure. If the NWFL can be considered as one giant entity it would benefit more than if it was a traditional structured. Under a single entity structure, any revenue made by the NWFL, the revenue would be centralized. To go along with that, the NWFL would have full control over everything like brands to licensing. As well as every athlete, coach trainer, etc. would be an employee of the NWFL instead of the individual teams within the NWFL. If the NWFL was to be a single entity structure teams wouldn’t compete for players and sponsors like they do in the NFL or MLB making it a little more even for all.

Work Cited
Sharp, Linda A. Sport Law:a managerial approach/Linda A. Sharp, Anita M. Moorman, Cathryn L. Claussen.—2nd ed.