Curt Flood Act of 1998

Summary: Curt Flood Act of 1998 - Amends the Clayton Act to declare that the antitrust laws apply to the conduct, acts, practices, or agreements (conduct) of persons in the business of organized professional major league baseball relating to or affecting employment of major league baseball players to play baseball at the major league level to the same extent that such laws apply to such conduct of any other professional sports business affecting interstate commerce. 
Grants standing to sue under this Act only to a major league baseball player, as defined by this Act. 
Specifies that in cases involving conduct that directly relates to or affects both employment of major league baseball players to play baseball at the major league level and any other aspect of organized professional baseball, only those components, portions, or aspects of such conduct that directly relate to or affect employment of major league baseball players to play baseball at the major league level may be challenged under this Act.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Curt Flood Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this legislation to state that major league 
baseball players are covered under the antitrust laws (i.e., that major 
league baseball players will have the same rights under the antitrust 
laws as do other professional athletes, e.g., football and basketball 
players), along with a provision that makes it clear that the passage 
of this Act does not change the application of the antitrust laws in 
any other context or with respect to any other person or entity.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS TO PROFESSIONAL MAJOR LEAGUE 
BASEBALL.
    The Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 12 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section:
    ``Sec. 27. (a) Subject to subsections (b) through (d), the conduct, 
acts, practices, or agreements of persons in the business of organized 
professional major league baseball directly relating to or affecting 
employment of major league baseball players to play baseball at the 
major league level are subject to the antitrust laws to the same extent 
such conduct, acts, practices, or agreements would be subject to the 
antitrust laws if engaged in by persons in any other professional 
sports business affecting interstate commerce.
    ``(b) No court shall rely on the enactment of this section as a 
basis for changing the application of the antitrust laws to any 
conduct, acts, practices, or agreements other than those set forth in 
subsection (a). This section does not create, permit or imply a cause 
of action by which to challenge under the antitrust laws, or otherwise 
apply the antitrust laws to, any conduct, acts, practices, or 
agreements that do not directly relate to or affect employment of major 
league baseball players to play baseball at the major league level, 
including but not limited to--
        ``(1) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of persons 
    engaging in, conducting or participating in the business of 
    organized professional baseball relating to or affecting employment 
    to play baseball at the minor league level, any organized 
    professional baseball amateur or first-year player draft, or any 
    reserve clause as applied to minor league players;
        ``(2) the agreement between organized professional major league 
    baseball teams and the teams of the National Association of 
    Professional Baseball Leagues, commonly known as the `Professional 
    Baseball Agreement', the relationship between organized 
    professional major league baseball and organized professional minor 
    league baseball, or any other matter relating to organized 
    professional baseball's minor leagues;
        ``(3) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of persons 
    engaging in, conducting or participating in the business of 
    organized professional baseball relating to or affecting franchise 
    expansion, location or relocation, franchise ownership issues, 
    including ownership transfers, the relationship between the Office 
    of the Commissioner and franchise owners, the marketing or sales of 
    the entertainment product of organized professional baseball and 
    the licensing of intellectual property rights owned or held by 
    organized professional baseball teams individually or collectively;
        ``(4) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements protected by 
    Public Law 87-331 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 et seq.) (commonly known as 
    the `Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961');
        ``(5) the relationship between persons in the business of 
    organized professional baseball and umpires or other individuals 
    who are employed in the business of organized professional baseball 
    by such persons; or
        ``(6) any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of persons 
    not in the business of organized professional major league 
    baseball.
    ``(c) Only a major league baseball player has standing to sue under 
this section. For the purposes of this section, a major league baseball 
player is--
        ``(1) a person who is a party to a major league player's 
    contract, or is playing baseball at the major league level; or
        ``(2) a person who was a party to a major league player's 
    contract or playing baseball at the major league level at the time 
    of the injury that is the subject of the complaint; or
        ``(3) a person who has been a party to a major league player's 
    contract or who has played baseball at the major league level, and 
    who claims he has been injured in his efforts to secure a 
    subsequent major league player's contract by an alleged violation 
    of the antitrust laws: Provided however, That for the purposes of 
    this paragraph, the alleged antitrust violation shall not include 
    any conduct, acts, practices, or agreements of persons in the 
    business of organized professional baseball relating to or 
    affecting employment to play baseball at the minor league level, 
    including any organized professional baseball amateur or first-year 
    player draft, or any reserve clause as applied to minor league 
    players; or
        ``(4) a person who was a party to a major league player's 
    contract or who was playing baseball at the major league level at 
    the conclusion of the last full championship season immediately 
    preceding the expiration of the last collective bargaining 
    agreement between persons in the business of organized professional 
    major league baseball and the exclusive collective bargaining 
    representative of major league baseball players.
    ``(d)(1) As used in this section, `person' means any entity, 
including an individual, partnership, corporation, trust or 
unincorporated association or any combination or association thereof. 
As used in this section, the National Association of Professional 
Baseball Leagues, its member leagues and the clubs of those leagues, 
are not `in the business of organized professional major league 
baseball'.
    ``(2) In cases involving conduct, acts, practices, or agreements 
that directly relate to or affect both employment of major league 
baseball players to play baseball at the major league level and also 
relate to or affect any other aspect of organized professional 
baseball, including but not limited to employment to play baseball at 
the minor league level and the other areas set forth in subsection (b), 
only those components, portions or aspects of such conduct, acts, 
practices, or agreements that directly relate to or affect employment 
of major league players to play baseball at the major league level may 
be challenged under subsection (a) and then only to the extent that 
they directly relate to or affect employment of major league baseball 
players to play baseball at the major league level.
    ``(3) As used in subsection (a), interpretation of the term 
`directly' shall not be governed by any interpretation of section 151 
et seq. of title 29, United States Code (as amended).
    ``(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the 
application to organized professional baseball of the nonstatutory 
labor exemption from the antitrust laws.
    ``(5) The scope of the conduct, acts, practices, or agreements 
covered by subsection (b) shall not be strictly or narrowly 
construed.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.