Negotiating Protections for Sports Sponsors When Disputes Arise Between Teams and Players

The end of a collective bargaining agreement between a professional sports league and the players association that represents the athletes triggers a series of dominos: The players go on strike; the league implements a lockout of the players; the parties meet over the course of several weeks to try to negotiate a new deal; both sides posture, with the league cautioning that pre-season and regular season games will be cancelled and the players association threatening to decertify as a union if a new agreement cannot be reached; the league files an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board coupled with a declaratory judgment action in U.S. district court seeking a ruling that the lockout is a legitimate negotiation tactic under the labor laws; the union decertifies and files its own lawsuit claiming that the league's lockout constitutes price-fixing and an illegal group boycott in violation of the antitrust laws; and fans brace for lost games.