
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC27a]

 
                      TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
 
      CHAPTER 1--MONOPOLIES AND COMBINATIONS IN RESTRAINT OF TRADE
 
Sec. 27a. Application of antitrust laws to professional major 
        league baseball
        

(a) Major league baseball subject to antitrust laws

    Subject to subsections (b) through (d) of this section, the conduct, 
acts, practices, or agreements of persons in the business of organized 
professional major league baseball directly relating to or affecting 
employment of major league baseball players to play baseball at the 
major league level are subject to the antitrust laws to the same extent 
such conduct, acts, practices, or agreements would be subject to the 
antitrust laws if engaged in by persons in any other professional sports 
business affecting interstate commerce.

(b) Limitation of section

    No court shall rely on the enactment of this section as a basis for 
changing the application of the antitrust laws to any conduct, acts, 
practices, or agreements other than those set forth in subsection (a) of 
this section. This section does not create, permit or imply a cause of 
action by which to challenge under the antitrust laws, or otherwise 
apply the antitrust laws to, any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements 
that do not directly relate to or affect employment of major league 
baseball players to play baseball at the major league level, including 
but not limited to--
        (1) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of persons 
    engaging in, conducting or participating in the business of 
    organized professional baseball relating to or affecting employment 
    to play baseball at the minor league level, any organized 
    professional baseball amateur or first-year player draft, or any 
    reserve clause as applied to minor league players;
        (2) the agreement between organized professional major league 
    baseball teams and the teams of the National Association of 
    Professional Baseball Leagues, commonly known as the ``Professional 
    Baseball Agreement'', the relationship between organized 
    professional major league baseball and organized professional minor 
    league baseball, or any other matter relating to organized 
    professional baseball's minor leagues;
        (3) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of persons 
    engaging in, conducting or participating in the business of 
    organized professional baseball relating to or affecting franchise 
    expansion, location or relocation, franchise ownership issues, 
    including ownership transfers, the relationship between the Office 
    of the Commissioner and franchise owners, the marketing or sales of 
    the entertainment product of organized professional baseball and the 
    licensing of intellectual property rights owned or held by organized 
    professional baseball teams individually or collectively;
        (4) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements protected by 
    Public Law 87-331 (15 U.S.C. Sec.  1291 et seq.) (commonly known as 
    the ``Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961'');
        (5) the relationship between persons in the business of 
    organized professional baseball and umpires or other individuals who 
    are employed in the business of organized professional baseball by 
    such persons; or
        (6) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of persons not 
    in the business of organized professional major league baseball.

(c) Standing to sue

    Only a major league baseball player has standing to sue under this 
section. For the purposes of this section, a major league baseball 
player is--
        (1) a person who is a party to a major league player's contract, 
    or is playing baseball at the major league level; or
        (2) a person who was a party to a major league player's contract 
    or playing baseball at the major league level at the time of the 
    injury that is the subject of the complaint; or
        (3) a person who has been a party to a major league player's 
    contract or who has played baseball at the major league level, and 
    who claims he has been injured in his efforts to secure a subsequent 
    major league player's contract by an alleged violation of the 
    antitrust laws: Provided however, That for the purposes of this 
    paragraph, the alleged antitrust violation shall not include any 
    conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of persons in the business 
    of organized professional baseball relating to or affecting 
    employment to play baseball at the minor league level, including any 
    organized professional baseball amateur or first-year player draft, 
    or any reserve clause as applied to minor league players; or
        (4) a person who was a party to a major league player's contract 
    or who was playing baseball at the major league level at the 
    conclusion of the last full championship season immediately 
    preceding the expiration of the last collective bargaining agreement 
    between persons in the business of organized professional major 
    league baseball and the exclusive collective bargaining 
    representative of major league baseball players.

(d) Conduct, acts, practices, or agreements subject to antitrust laws

    (1) As used in this section, ``person'' means any entity, including 
an individual, partnership, corporation, trust or unincorporated 
association or any combination or association thereof. As used in this 
section, the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, its 
member leagues and the clubs of those leagues, are not ``in the business 
of organized professional major league baseball''.
    (2) In cases involving conduct, acts, practices, or agreements that 
directly relate to or affect both employment of major league baseball 
players to play baseball at the major league level and also relate to or 
affect any other aspect of organized professional baseball, including 
but not limited to employment to play baseball at the minor league level 
and the other areas set forth in subsection (b) of this section, only 
those components, portions or aspects of such conduct, acts, practices, 
or agreements that directly relate to or affect employment of major 
league players to play baseball at the major league level may be 
challenged under subsection (a) of this section and then only to the 
extent that they directly relate to or affect employment of major league 
baseball players to play baseball at the major league level.
    (3) As used in subsection (a) of this section, interpretation of the 
term ``directly'' shall not be governed by any interpretation of section 
151 et seq. of title 29, United States Code (as amended).
    (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the 
application to organized professional baseball of the nonstatutory labor 
exemption from the antitrust laws.
    (5) The scope of the conduct, acts, practices, or agreements covered 
by subsection (b) of this section shall not be strictly or narrowly 
construed.

(Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, Sec. 27, as added Pub. L. 105-297, Sec. 3, Oct. 
27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2824.)

                       References in Text

    The antitrust laws, referred to in text, are defined in section 12 
of this title.
    Public Law 87-331, referred to in subsec. (b)(4), is Pub. L. 87-331, 
Sept. 30, 1961, 75 Stat. 732, as amended, which is classified generally 
to chapter 32 (Sec. 1291 et seq.) of this title. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

                          Codification

    Another section 27 of act Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, is classified to 
section 27 of this title.


                                 Purpose

    Pub. L. 105-297, Sec. 2, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2824, provided 
that: ``It is the purpose of this legislation to state that major league 
baseball players are covered under the antitrust laws (i.e., that major 
league baseball players will have the same rights under the antitrust 
laws as do other professional athletes, e.g., football and basketball 
players), along with a provision that makes it clear that the passage of 
this Act [enacting this section and provisions set out as a note under 
section 1 of this title] does not change the application of the 
antitrust laws in any other context or with respect to any other person 
or entity.''
