On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams speak with DeMaurice Smith, the former executive director of the NFLPA, about the world’s richest sports league and its relationship with its players.
Smith, who led the union from 2009 to 2023, discusses what he views as the foundational “crime” of the league: its antitrust exemption. The NFL‘s path to becoming a $20+ billion entertainment enterprise was built on that, he contends. He offers a comparative analogy: imagine we were allowed to buy the two largest hardware stores, merge them, and then drive all the other mom and pop stores out of business. “We might be smart,” he said of that scenario, “but I’m willing to bet that that billion check we’re cashing every year has more to do with our control over the industry.”
Smith talks about the changes underway in college sports, and what it might mean for the NFL. More specifically, he talks about the potential for a handful of the biggest NFL draft prospects to join forces to challenge the NFL’s labor practices. That would pick up on conversations that Caleb Williams, the top pick in the 2024 Draft, and his family started when he was entering the league.
Next they talk about other major U.S. players’ unions. While athletes in the WNBA and NWSL are making big gains, their male peers seemingly are having less success. Smith talks about why that might be—offering a theory about rising salaries, soaring revenues and growing comfort.
They close by talking about a number of other issues, including OSHA violations, the legacy of the 2011 labor accord and “the only person that ever made the NFL quiver.”
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