MIT Professor explains how the NFL is a legalized and government sanctioned Cartel

[Big Turk]

This is a actually pretty interesting...

 

 

 

[Don Otreply]

Lots of us already know it is, 

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Do other brands/leagues (English Premier League, La Liga, Formula 1, etc.)  do this as well?

[SoCal Deek]

Shouldn’t an MIT professor be working on the physics required to sustain humans on other planets? 

[djp14150]

7 minutes ago, The Cincinnati Kid said:

Do other brands/leagues (English Premier League, La Liga, Formula 1, etc.)  do this as well?

 

the non USA leagues sell a league wide deal, not individual team deals.

 

NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLA on cable sell either individual team packages or league wide packages. This was part of a class action settlement that allowed the customer to just buy their preferred team only,

 

previously on cable a cable provider might have 12 or so channels to air the games but you woukd have to look for which station your game was on. Some stations would air 2 different games. On Saturday they might air an afternoon 3 pm game then at 8 pm was a different game.

 

what was nice with this structure ( for years Ive purchased the nhl package) was they would air HNIC on Saturday from just one station so you would see the pre game and in between game stuff. Now they cut that out where the station shuts off when game ends.

Just now, SoCal Deek said:

Shouldn’t an MIT professor be working on the physics required to sustain humans on other planets? 

They should focus on cancer first….

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

38 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Shouldn’t an MIT professor be working on the physics required to sustain humans on other planets? 

maybe on this planet.

[Buffalo716]

I forgot the part where the NFL is sending out Josh Allen and Dalton Kincaid as Hitman across the country like the cartel

Edited September 29 by Buffalo716

[Bills fan since 87]

[4merper4mer]

[Mojo44]

1 hour ago, djp14150 said:

 

the non USA leagues sell a league wide deal, not individual team deals.

 

NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLA on cable sell either individual team packages or league wide packages. This was part of a class action settlement that allowed the customer to just buy their preferred team only,

 

previously on cable a cable provider might have 12 or so channels to air the games but you woukd have to look for which station your game was on. Some stations would air 2 different games. On Saturday they might air an afternoon 3 pm game then at 8 pm was a different game.

 

what was nice with this structure ( for years Ive purchased the nhl package) was they would air HNIC on Saturday from just one station so you would see the pre game and in between game stuff. Now they cut that out where the station shuts off when game ends.

They should focus on cancer first….

Economist don’t cure cancer. This is precisely what they do.

[GoBills808]

the NFL is technically a 32 member trade association

i don't really understand the guy's gripe tbh

 

 

[djp14150]

On 9/29/2025 at 7:46 PM, Mojo44 said:

Economist don’t cure cancer. This is precisely what they do.

They can….

 

Investing in the cure for cancer is the better ROI….

[julian]

On 9/29/2025 at 6:33 PM, SoCal Deek said:

Shouldn’t an MIT professor be working on the physics required to sustain humans on other planets? 

The NFL has sustained my life on this planet for decades, allowing me to go to work everyday with a little bit of joy while flexing on my non Bills fans coworkers after every win.

 

 This professor is doing the lords work.

[Matt_In_NH]

That’s what you pay 90k per year for your kid?   

[716to540]

Is this the same guy who proved that the forward pass really wasn't a forward pass??,

[dave mcbride]

On 9/29/2025 at 6:33 PM, SoCal Deek said:

Shouldn’t an MIT professor be working on the physics required to sustain humans on other planets? 

MIT has the second ranked economics department in the country (after Harvard), and they’re great at both macro and micro.

[Bob in STL]

On 9/29/2025 at 5:33 PM, SoCal Deek said:

Shouldn’t an MIT professor be working on the physics required to sustain humans on other planets? 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

On 9/29/2025 at 6:34 PM, djp14150 said:

 

the non USA leagues sell a league wide deal, not individual team deals.

 

NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLA on cable sell either individual team packages or league wide packages. This was part of a class action settlement that allowed the customer to just buy their preferred team only,

 

previously on cable a cable provider might have 12 or so channels to air the games but you woukd have to look for which station your game was on. Some stations would air 2 different games. On Saturday they might air an afternoon 3 pm game then at 8 pm was a different game.

 

what was nice with this structure ( for years Ive purchased the nhl package) was they would air HNIC on Saturday from just one station so you would see the pre game and in between game stuff. Now they cut that out where the station shuts off when game ends.

They should focus on cancer first….

 

Sort of - as a cleveland guardians fan, prior to last year i couldn't watch their games unless i had some bally sports package that was 49 dollars a month including a number of channels i didn't want.  After the bankruptcy, they wanted 29.99 per month for their games and their league wide package would have blacked-out guardians games.  

[Bruffalo]

A lot of yall have been out of school for too long to recognize that this kind of lecture is what good teaching is all about. 

 

This is probably an undergrad class that's not filled with Econ majors. He's taking an abstract concept and putting in terms that a lot of students will have had real world experience with, trying to watch their favorite team. That kind of teaching sticks in your head a lot better than just dryly reading out of a textbook. 

[BarleyNY]

Some additional points:

- US Congress has oversight of the NFL due to the ruling the prof mentions

- The CBA is necessary for the current system to exist. If there ever comes a day that the owners and players do not agree on a CBA and it expires, the exemption ends. 32 teams would then operate independently. No draft, no cap, individual game rights, etc.