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Beyond The Box Score: A Look At Collective Bargaining Agreements In Professional Sports And Their Effect On Competition, Ryan T. Dryer

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Most sports fans have at least the limited understanding that collective bargaining agreements govern the employer-employee relationships between the owners of professional sports teams and players' associations. Indeed, sports have become a big business in the United States, and the media coverage of sports has extended beyond reporting statistics and scores to include all dealings associated with the business.' Every year (at various times depending on the sport), fans are bombarded with numbers detailing signing bonuses, salary cap implications, arbitration results, incentive-laden contracts, and a multitude of other terms that boggle the mind of the layperson. As most sports fans …