Professional leagues emerged after sports clubs found it wise to centralize the organization of their games. Clubs saw it fit to organize themselves into leagues to increase the benefits that would accrue from combining their operations such as better operating profits (Rosner & Shropshire, 2011). In this sense, professional leagues do not have the same structure as traditional business models. Traditionally, businesses met at the marketplace, each with its own focus, strategies, and objectives. Originally, teams also had this mentality. Except for the rules of the games, the teams operated as they wished (Rosner & Shropshire, 2011).
With the emergence of leagues, there came the standardization of operational requirements for teams. The teams participated in the league as members of the league. The current reality is that the teams operate individually but within the broader rules developed by the league itself. This notwithstanding, Grow (2006) gave an important legal distinction regarding the legal status of leagues when he pointed out that leagues operate as single entities in matters that are not related to labor but cannot operate as such when it comes to labor laws. In conclusion, leagues are single entities made up of club members. The league has the authority to decide on what it feels is best for the member teams.
In order to determine whether the commissioners of professional sports have too much power, it is important to consider how they get their positions in the first place. In many leagues, the commissioner comes into position following appointment by the clubs, either by consensus or by a vote (Edel, Dershowitz, Kessler, & O’Donohue, 2002). The clubs themselves form and ratify the rules they expect to govern the league. In some cases, this authority lies in a board headed by the commissioner for sports.
In both cases, it is clear that the power that an individual commissioner enjoys lies in enforcing the rules of the game and participating in the creation of new laws. As such, they are not the ultimate authority in the league. However, depending on the powers given to the commissioner, he can have a significant influence on how the sport develops especially in regards to its revenue structure (Phillips, 2011).
The question of whether that power is good or not depends on the particular circumstance in question and the stage of development of the particular sport. When the sport has had a chance to develop and test its laws, then the greatest benefit the sport gets from a commissioner is if it gives more power to the commissioner to enforce rules. This is because clubs tend to struggle to keep within the laws as they seek competitive advantage, at times unfairly (Rosner & Shropshire, 2011).
However, when the commissioner fails to allow for growth in the league, then the power becomes detrimental to the growth of the sport. For instance, FIFA remains opposed to using goal-line technology to help settle disputes relating to whether a ball crossed the line or not. As the governing body, it feels this measure will be difficult to implement worldwide because of disparities in the economic development of countries, hence, it may have a negative impact on the standards of the game (Walker, Walker, & Schmitz, 2003).
This situation makes every team that feels denied goals that they see in replay cameras think that FIFA is opposed to the development of the game. On the other hand, if the league is new, then a commissioner can best serve the league by having greater legislative power. Giving the commissioner the power they need for the league is the key to their performance. Otherwise, they can end up as inordinately powerful promoters or inhibitors of the sport.
References
Edel, M., Dershowitz, J., Kessler, J., & O’Donohue, T. (2002). Restructuring Professional Sports Leagues. Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal, XII (2), 414-459.
Grow, N. (2006). There’s no “I” in “League”: Professional Sports Leagues and the Single Entity Defense. Michigan Law Review , 105 (1), 183-298.
Phillips, R. (2011). Efficient Frontiers in Revenue Management. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management (26), 1-25.
Rosner, S., & Shropshire, K. L. (2011). The Business of Sports. London: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Walker, D. M., Walker, T. D., & Schmitz, J. T. (2003). Doing Business Internationally: The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.