A Study on the Legal Ramifications of Free Agency in Professional Sports Today

Free agency has impacted professional sports all over the world. The professional sports industry has seen an increase in revenue, player salary increase, fan attendance increases and more. The legal and economic benefit to players is that they can play where they want to and they can negotiate how much they make through their player agents. However, free agency did not just come about. There were legal actions taken by players to bring about this new and better part of the collective bargaining agreement. I will take a closer look at the development of free agency through the world’s two largest and lucrative leagues – Major League Baseball and the National Football League. Furthermore, this article will try to analyze the legal, economic, and social impacts free agency has on professional sports. Concepts such as reserve clauses, qualifying offers, player agents will be introduced and examined. Many countries with professional sports clubs use free agency to boost attendance figures, interest in the game, of course to make money. With the prevalence of free agency impacting sports there have been definite downsides such as labor disputes and the disappearance of rivalries. This study will analyze and discuss whether free agency is the most appropriate model in creating a balance between professional sports clubs and the players and whether other changes should be adopted.