The NFL Versus American Needle

The NFL is apparently tired of being sued in antitrust lawsuits. Even though the football league won a case in a lower court, they are attempting to have the case heard in front of the United States Supreme Court.

In the suit, American Needle says that the NFL broke antitrust laws by giving Reebok exclusive rights to produce NFL-related headgear. The NFL maintains that no laws were broken and they want the Supreme Court to confirm their thinking. Early next week, the Supreme Court will decide whether or not it will listen to the case.

In an interesting twist, the NBA and the NHL have gone to bat for the NFL. Both filed paperwork to say that they support the NFL in its fight against antitrust-related lawsuits.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2004 when American Needle sued both the NFL and Reebok. However, that’s just one of many antitrust lawsuits that have caused the NFL headaches.

Many legal experts believe that the NFL is likely to get their case heard in front of the Supreme Court — and score a winning touchdown against further antitrust lawsuits.

NFL (Image: Flickr)