Sports leagues are very unique, complex entities.  More than any other industry, sports leagues exhibit aspects of joint ventures, single entities, cartels, monopolies, competitive markets, etc.  Due to these diverse structures and characteristics, even the courts have found it unclear how to view and treat sports leagues.

This is complicated by the competing and often contradictory objectives from owners, some of whom are profit maximizers, while others sportsmen owners who simply want to field a winning team.  Competitive balance is unique to sports and is the reason for many of the extraordinary rules that sports leagues adhere to.  These rules, such as revenue sharing, salary caps, and player drafts, can have unintended consequences. While a league may believe it is acting in a pro-competitive manner, because franchises must collaborate to reach these agreements, some league decisions may run afoul of antitrust laws.

An analysis of league structure, strategies, tactics, team conduct, and incentives are an important aspect of league management.  We specialize in understanding how to optimally structure a league, what rules to use and to what extent, and the impacts of the rules and expected outcomes.

Click here to link to our case study: League Regulation