The Balance of Power in Professional Sports

This note examines the problems of the professional athlete in dealing with the "establishment" in the sports world. The basic framework for analysis lies in the operation of our free enterprise ideas in the practical context of professional sports. The professional athlete suffers from a severe lack of bargaining power in his relationship with management. This bargaining imbalance is inconsistent with the premises of our free enterprise system and must be eliminated if the professional sports world is to avoid a total breakdown in labor-management relations.