The district court agreed, holding that the school did not employ Waldrep and so was not liable for workers compensation payments. The court noted that Waldrep could have quit the team without losing his financial aid package, did not pay any taxes based on his financial aid, and was not placed on TCU s payroll. These team operator-investors do not directly hire players for their teams, instead, players sign contracts with the league and are then allocated to the various teams. Therefore, players do not benefit from any competition among teams for their services which might increase their salaries. Iain Fraser and seven other soccer players sued MLS and alleged that the league s player allocation policy restrained trade and eliminated competition for players services among teams.
Transfer fees are the dollar amounts paid by a team for the right to sign a player.
MLS argued that its previously structured operation did not violate the federal antitrust laws because it is a single entity. However, MLS and its clubs could not conspire to restrain trade because there are no divergent economic interests within the MLS structure. The court also held that competition could be decreased since there was no existing market for first-division soccer players. Thus, the court found that MLS did not violate U.S. antitrust laws and granted its motion for summary judgment. After making the offer, the team continued to negotiate with Moore s agent, Gary Wichard, for a multi-year contract.