The salary cap isn't your problem at all, Bako. Your problem is that you think it is your problem. It is what it is. To obsess over it as a fan is meaningless and to a degree unhealthy. To compulsively obsess over the cap and the person responsible is likely a disorder. It sounds like a version of OCD to me.

In what way is Gruden's situation collusion? He is suing because of leaked emails that showed examples of "racist, sexist, and homophobic language". That has nothing to do with collusion. It has everything to do with defamation of character, instead.

It is a hybrid that isn't as clear cut as your example. Depending on the circumstance it can be 32 separate divisions of the same company. All teams fall under the NFL Corporate umbrella, so much so that the NFL decides how many teams there (limits competition), how much they are allowed to pay (salary cap), which cities get them, and who gets to own them. Not apples to apples with your comparison.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that the NFL and its teams must be treated as 32 independent businesses, particularly for antitrust and licensing purposes, according to multiple legal news sources. While the teams collaborate to operate the league (this collaboration is what is being called collusion), they are ultimately separate, profit-maximizing entities.

If they had a meeting to blanket raise ticket prices that is collusion as the public is getting screwed. Guaranteed contracts have nothing to do with the public, that is an internal union issue between the employers and the employees.

It is convoluted to say the least, almost as if at some point, congress had a hand in forming the NFL and granting cities and teams (which it did).

The salary cap is a part of football. To argue that fans should ignore it is as ridiculous as arguing that fans should ignore the draft, the record, the score, or the down and distance of the game. They all play key roles in the teams success. Just as player nearing the sidelines may score if they don't cross out of bounds before they reach the goal line, a team may be able to assemble a dynasty level roster if they can add quality young talent without reaching the point where they are limited by the salary cap and have to stick with the senior tour instead to kick the can.

The only difference with the salary cap is that it involves middle school level math, whereas the rest involve early elementary school level math skills such as counting and basic addition and subtraction. Middle School math intimidates too much of the audience for the media to be willing to cover it in detail, once you start busting out x = (y-1)/5 to explain how a restructure prorates money, a lot of people think that its quantum physics or 'wizardry.' Many tune out or click away, but its seriously more like 7th grade and I try to explain and analyze it since the media won't. As a more neglected aspect of football competition, I take an interest in it. Sorry if you think anyone who likes 7th grade math must have Asperger's or something, but its really not all that.

The way I understand it, anti-trust and collusion are not limited to the public or the consumer. For example, business ethics trainings I have taken have been very clear that it is a potential violation to discuss contractor bids with a competitor, such as agreeing that neither company will offer a bid below a certain amount, or neither company will accept a bid over a certain amount. Monopoly power does not just allow a company or colluding companies to exploit consumers, it allows them to demand lower bids where their contractors can barely break even, offer higher bids that other companies have to pay because they have no other options, and pay lower salaries to workers because there is no threat of a competitor poaching their staff. Many of the big complaints about companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Microsoft have centered around what they have done to other companies, not directly to consumers, and sure maybe many don't care, but it really sucks for small business owners if Amazon or Walmart suddenly demand they wholesale at a loss or lose 90% of their sales, or Microsoft copies they product and preinstalls the copy on 90% of new computers.

The NFL is convoluted as it can do things many companies can't. For example it is very illegal for competing companies to agree to 'territories' so that each can have its own local monopoly, but obviously NFL teams can. But home teams are a part of sports, so the government allows that exception.

When you say that guaranteed contracts are an issue between the employers and employees you may be right. But it depends whether by the employer you mean the NFL or independent teams. If it is between the NFL and the teams it is supposed to be a part of the union agreement, but the union agreement does not address guaranteed contracts currently. Since its not in the union contract, its supposed to be up to each individual team. But if groups of teams are pressuring each other separately from the union contract, to make secret side rules, that is potentially collusion, because its happening in secret not in open labor and employer negotiations.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profoo...sion-grievance

There are always nefarious people looking to scam you. Especially when that kind of money is involved. I'm not surprised about the collusion.