Baseball's Antitrust Exemption Marks Its 100th Anniversary With A New Challenge

For more than a century, minor league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB) have thrived in a symbiotic relationship. Minor league teams affiliate with major league teams for financial support and access to major league staff. In exchange, major league teams receive a share of minor league revenue and access to budding talent. The year 2020 marked the expiration of an agreement governing these affairs. According to a case filed in the Southern District of New York, Nostalgic Partners v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, a new agreement capping the number of minor league affiliates at 120 is alleged to constitute a group boycott in violation of the Sherman Act § 1.

The case has reanimated the debate over the controversial, judicially ordained baseball antitrust exemption, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on May 29. The complaint, brought by excluded minor league teams, alleges that the exemption should be overturned and, in any event, only narrowly