Arkady Renko Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I am less worried than some here about what the Toronto games mean for the future of the Bills in Buffalo. However, I still worry about the future of the team. Congress' stick to use against the NFL is that it has exempted pooling broadcast rights of all the teams from anti-trust scrutiny under the Sports Broadcasting Act. This has often been referenced as a stick Congress could use against the NFL if they object to, among other things, franchise relocations. (Baseball has a court-made general exemption, but it is the only league to have this.) Perhaps there would not be enough outrage over the Bills moving to motivate enough Congressmen to support using this against the NFL. However, what about the following legislation to make it easier for the team to remain in Buffalo. 1. Pass a law that defers all federal estate tax on a professional sports franchise until the sports franchise leaves its home market. 2. Exempt league actions preventing franchise relocations (e.g., refusing to approve franchise relocations) from anti-trust law in order to prevent any fears of Al Davis type law suits like what occurred when he moved the Raiders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortured Soul Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 As much as I don't want the Bills to leave Buffalo, I don't think it's Congress' place to dictate what a privately owned business can and can't do. Some regulation is needed, of course, but this isn't it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnychemo Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I'd normally agree, but the NFL gets special treatment via the anti-trust exemption as well as receiving taxpayer funds in the form of stadiums/improvements. With that in mind, it gives the govt a valid reason for exerting some influence in some of the leagues business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 As much as I don't want the Bills to leave Buffalo, I don't think it's Congress' place to dictate what a privately owned business can and can't do. Some regulation is needed, of course, but this isn't it. None of the above proposals actually are telling the NFL owners to do anything, they are just creating incentives (allowing an inherited team owner to avoid paying the estate tax and ensuring that NFL and its owners are not sued if they reject a franchise relocation). As the poster above stated, Congress overturned the courts in order to give the NFL owners more money by giving them an anti-trust exemption for pooling broadcast rights and blacking out unsold games, and the NFL owners have raided the public fisc by blackmailing municipalities with threats of moving. The NFL owners certainly do not have much problem with taxes being raised on citizens in order to built stadiums so overflowing with luxury boxes and other extravagance that fans are in effect being taxed so that they are priced out of seeing a game themselves. NFL owners don't seem to mind governments condemning homes and businesses to accommodate space for their new playpens... ...etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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