Word: sweigert
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...biggest win of all with a wacky 28-26 squeaker over the defending Super Bowl champion Dolphins. And when the pros were taking a breather, the college bowl games competed for the fan's attention. Almost unnoticed amidst all the hoopla, Federal District Court Judge William T. Sweigert handed down a decision in San Francisco that threw the National Football "League for a loss. It could upset the basic structure of labor-management relations in professional football...
Rozelle Rule. In an antitrust suit brought against the league and the New England Patriots by ex-Quarterback Joe Kapp, Judge Sweigert declared that the so-called Rozelle rule and part of the league's draft procedure are "patently unreasonable" and therefore illegal...
...that when any individual plays out his contract and elects to sign with another team, his new owners must send his old team a player or players from their roster. If the teams cannot agree on an exchange, League Commissioner Pete Rozelle chooses who will be the compensation. Judge Sweigert's decision thus gives to professional football players a bargaining power they failed to win in their unsuccessful strike against the league last summer. It permits any team to sign a star like Joe Namath, who has played out his contract with the New York Jets, without fear that...
Until now, the N.F.L.'s rules have granted teams exclusive rights to negotiate with players they pick in the annual draft. If they do not agree on a contract, and the team does not trade those negotiating rights, the player is frozen out of employment. Sweigert's ruling upheld the basic structure of the draft, but said that there must be a time limit on exclusive negotiating rights...
Should Judge Sweigert be sustained on appeal, more athletes are likely to make more money, but the top gainer stands to be Kapp. He has been an exile from pro football since 1971, when Rozelle banned him from the league for refusing to sign a standard player's contract. He then brought suit contending he was being denied the right to practice his profession. His case must now go to trial to determine damages. If his lawyers can collect even half of what they are claiming, Kapp could hit the N.F.L. for $5 million...