he labor movement is to reduce competition among employees regarding wages and conditions of employment. This goal is achieved by individuals giving up their right to individually pursue an employment contract. Unions represent everyone by pooling their strength with the threat of strikes and similar activities. Agreements between employers and unions are frequently combinations in restraint of trade within the literal language of the Sherman Act. However, agreements regarding matters such as uniform wage rates, seniority systems and hiring halls are matters that normally constitute mandatory subjects of bargaining and which national labor policy encourages agreement.The effort to accommodate these two important national policies has been left largely to the courts and the Supreme Court has addressed this on several occasions. For example, the NFL eligibility rule which dates back to the 1920s is a case in point. Originally, the League stated that the rule was adopted to provide competitive balance. Today, however, it appears to be more of a mechanism for maintaining a farm system for the League that assures well-seasoned players for the draft. The eligibility rule states that a player is not eligible for the draft until he has graduated from college or attended for five years. This rule is the most restrictive rule of its type in professional sports and is devoid of legally cognizable justification. The NFLs draft eligibility furl has been made a part of the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL owners and the players union. Existing Supreme Court precedent and lower court application of the labor exemption doctrine in cases challenging other aspects of the employment relationship, including the reserve systems in professional sports clearly show that the interests protected by the draft eligibility rule are not in line with the intent of national labor policies. Future reconciliation of this problem will have to i...
