As we told you about last June, American Needle, a Buffalo Grove clothing company that spent decades making hats for the NFL, finds itself in the middle of a U.S. Supreme Court antitrust case that may have far-reaching implications for how sports business is conducted. Oral arguments begin today in American Needle v. NFL, the culmination of a legal battle that began with American Needle's unsuccessful 2004 suit of the NFL and Reebok following their 2001 licensing agreement for all official NFL apparel, a contract that wiped out the previous agreements between the NFL and smaller companies like American Needle. The subsequent appeal with the Seventh Circuit Court was also unsuccessful, so now American Needle demans satisfaction with SCOTUS. So then why did the NFL also request SCOTUS hear the case? more ›

Buffalo Grove's American Needle Inc. is heading to the Supreme Court thanks to a fight with the NFL. The company had been one of many that had previously sued the NFL for violating federal antitrust law when the league signed an exclusive merch licensing deal with Reebok in 2001. American Needle lost its suit and its appeal against the NFL and the league took the case to the Supreme Court hoping to get a more broad ruling against smaller lawsuits, though American Needle has pursued a high court ruling as well. According to the Associated Press, "Football team owners hope the high court will issue a broader decision that would insulate the NFL against what they contend are costly, frivolous antitrust lawsuits." [AP, WBEZ] more ›