e commerce involved in the sport. After this decision, the NFL attempted to persuade Congress to grant it a complete exemption from the antitrust laws; however, they were unsuccessful. Prior to Mackey, Joe Kapp challenged the Rozelle Rule. His lawsuit sought damages from the NFL for terminating his playing career after refusing to sign a standard player contract after playing out an option with another team. Although the federal court rejected Kapps claim that the Rozelle Rule was an illegal conspiracy to restrain trade and monopolize football in violation of the antitrust laws, it did find that the Leagues enforcement of the rule was too severe and caused undue hardship on the players. The NFL draft was challenged on antitrust grounds in the Smith v. NFL case. Smiths suit alleged that the draft denied him bargaining power and restricted him from obtaining contract provisions to protect his financial future in case of a disabling injury. While the case was being heard in the federal courts, the NFL changed the draft rules. Even though the case did not have an effect on the modified draft procedure, the U.S. Court of Appeals found that the old draft procedure was illegal. Although no violation of antitrust laws were found, the Court did note that the draft reduced competition by taking away opportunities for college players to market their talents. The U.S. District Court had noted earlier that one of the ways to decrease the anticompetitive influence of the NFL draft on college players was to reduce the number of selection rounds. The League did take this step in an effort to try to remove itself from additional litigation.Herschel Walkers signing with the USFL brought to light more questions about the draft. Before Walker signed, the USFL had indicated that it would follow the NFLs college eligibility rule. However the USFL broke its own rule and signed Walker, a college junior. And in 1984 a University of Arizona studen...
