Week 2 Sport Law Post

1. What are the elements to a valid contract?
2. How can those elements themselves be fulfilled?

There must be consent, meaning an offer is made and that offer is accepted. There must be consideration, meaning that something of value is exchanged for something else of value. The agreement must include only legal actions. Each party must have the capacity to enter a contract.

These elements are fulfilled in the following example. I offer to pay you $15 to wash my car and you accept. An offer has been made and accepted by two parties. An offer to exchange something of value ($15) for something else of value (a clean car) has been made. Washing a car and paying someone to wash a car are both legal actions. You are an adult, in good mental health and not under the influence, so you have the capacity to enter a contract.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2011-01-19-nflpa-lobbying_N.htm

This article discusses the lobbying taking place on Capitol Hill and how it is affecting the upcoming CBA negotiations. It is interesting to see that the NFL spent 1.1 million dollars lobbying Congress in 2009, and the NFLPA spent $350,000 doing the same. The NFL has a PAC while the the NFLPA does not.

Week 1 Sport Law Post

What are the differences between laws and regulations?

In the sense of federal and state governments, laws are created by the respective legislatures of the nation or states. Regulations are created by administrations. Regulations can also be created by governments or organizations that do not carry the power to take away your natural rights as a human being. Airlines, the NCAA, Major League Baseball and the University of Texas are all examples of organizations that have regulations. However, unlike with laws you cannot have your life or liberty taken by breaking one of these organization's regulations. You could have your property taken, but only if you willingly made an agreement to follow the regulations of the organization.

One dictionary I used listed laws and regulations as synonyms. In my mind, laws have more bite than regulations. I think of big government and a list of progressively more serious punishments when I think of law. Regulations have this feeling of guidelines which can be changed.

Sports Law Related Article for the Week:

University of Texas' TV network is a lucrative web of conflicts

This article commentates on the conflict of interests inherent in a partnership between a media company and the subject of its coverage. It also brings up an NCAA rule which prohibits universities from arranging for recruits to be on TV and how having high school games televised on UT's network appears to be in direct conflict with this rule.

The power schools have always had a special relationship with the media, ESPN in particular. Bigger names create bigger ratings, so naturally ESPN is going to have an interest in having the biggest names perform well. Hence the bias you often see by commentators and the special emphasis placed on a certain select schools. However, this new network takes things to a whole new stratosphere. ESPN will now literally have a financial stake in the success of Longhorns athletics. It will be beneficial for ESPN to talk up UT and create as much positive press about the Longhorns as possible. Keep your eyes peeled for the "what did Mack Brown have for breakfast" types of articles we currently see plastered daily on ESPN about LeBron James. Will ESPN be as likely to air negative press about the Longhorns when the bottom line is on the line?

The rule highlighted in the article makes me wonder if the legality of the network will be brought to the NCAA by other schools.

Rosenberg poses some good questions. Will the other schools get any of the money from playing the Longhorns on the new network? If not, how is this legal? Will coaches steer players to UT in an effort to get their games televised?

If I wasn't a Longhorn, I'd be vomiting right now.