Supreme Court says the NFL is 32 teams working together, not 1 big business

Court: NFL is 32 teams, not single business

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says the National Football League can be considered as 32 separate teams — not one big business — when it comes to to selling NFL-branded items like jerseys and caps.

The high court has unanimously reversed a lower court ruling throwing out an antitrust suit brought against the league by one of its former hat makers.

American Needle had sued the league after losing the contract to Reebok. The company said the NFL violated antitrust law because all 32 teams worked together to freeze it out of the NFL-licensed hatmaking business. The NFL said it did not violate antitrust law because the teams are all one business.

The lawsuit now goes back to district court.