Football Fairness Act of 2007

As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, California Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation in the Senate that would grant the National Football League limited exemption from antitrust law. The measure, called the Football Fairness Act of 2007, would give the NFL the right to block a team's move, thus giving cities the opportunity to lobby NFL owners to keep a franchise. The NFL supported the measure, saying: "We have long supported legislation that would continue the right of sports leagues to determine the markets where their franchises are located." Major League Baseball enjoys broad antitrust exemption which allows owners to vote on relocations. Only one baseball team has relocated in the past 25 years (the Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C. and were renamed the Washington Nationals). During the same time period, seven NFL teams have moved.