Cincinnati Bengals, Inc. v. Bergey

• Decision Date: 14 May 1974
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. C-1-74-142.
• Citation: 453 F. Supp. 129
• Parties: The CINCINNATI BENGALS, INC., Plaintiff, v. William BERGEY et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

453 F. Supp. 129

The CINCINNATI BENGALS, INC., Plaintiff, v. William BERGEY et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. C-1-74-142.

United States District Court, S. D. Ohio, W. D.

May 14, 1974.

John A. Lloyd, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio, for plaintiff.

William L. Blum, Cincinnati, Ohio, for William Bergey.

George J. Moscarino, Cleveland, Ohio, for World Football League.

Stephen C. Drummy, Newport Beach, Cal., for defendants.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW ON MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

DAVID S. PORTER, District Judge:

This is an action for a preliminary and permanent injunction brought by The Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL) against Bill Bergey, its premier linebacker, who has signed a contract for his future personal services with the Virginia Ambassadors of the new World Football League (WFL). It is also against the Ambassadors and the other eleven member teams of the WFL and the WFL itself. As to these defendants, the heart of the plaintiff's claim is that they are raiding the ranks of the Bengals unfairly by signing players under existing Bengal contracts to contracts for future services, i. e., services to begin at the expiration of the player's present Bengal contract.

Plaintiff seeks to prevent the signing of any other Bengal players to future service contracts on the grounds that such signings will undermine the contractual rights of the Bengals to such player's full performance while still under contract to the Bengals.

Initially there was a claim that the WFL defendants were inducing breaches of the Bengals' contract with Bergey, and, unless enjoined, would do the same with other key players. Partly in reliance on such verified claims in the complaint, a temporary restraining order without notice was issued April 19, 1974. It expired on April 29, 1974. Plaintiff's motion to extend it for another ten days pursuant to Rule 65(b) was denied.

The motion for preliminary injunction was set for hearing, allowing time only for limited discovery. The issues presented by the evidence adduced at that hearing and the conflicting claims of the parties have been extensively briefed and argued orally. The evidence on the points in dispute was fairly well developed. As a result, though the precise question presented is a new one in the chapter on contracts in professional sports (and therefore one not ordinarily appropriate for resolution on a hurry-up basis), the Court is in a position to make a fairly complete analysis and report thereon to inform the parties of the basis of its decision and facilitate review thereof.

The Court's decision is that the motion is not well taken and it is, therefore, denied.

The following findings of facts and conclusions of law are made as required by Rule 52 Fed.R.Civ.P. In addition, we have supplemented such findings and conclusions with a discussion in detail of the applicable law, and other matters of special interest.

Though the plaintiff's claim that the defendants (other than Bergey) have induced breaches of its player contracts is not abandoned, it is not now seriously pressed. Hence, the focus of what follows is on the plaintiff's claim that its right to full performance under its player contracts has been and is being "undermined."

FINDINGS OF FACT

General Findings as to Jurisdiction and Parties:

1. The Cincinnati Bengals, Inc., plaintiff herein, is an Ohio corporation with its principal place of business in Cincinnati, Ohio.

2. William Bergey, one of the individual defendants herein, is a citizen of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. All of the other individual defendants are citizens of States other than Ohio.

3. The World Football League (WFL), defendant herein, is a nonprofit California corporation with its principal place of business in Newport Beach, California.

4. The corporate entities listed in the Appendix to this opinion own franchises to operate professional football teams in the WFL.

5. The matter in controversy in this case exceeds the sum or value of $10,000 exclusive of interest and costs.

BACKGROUND

6. The Bengals are one of 26 teams in the National Football League (NFL). The Cincinnati Bengals, Inc., is the holder of a franchise to operate a professional football team as a member of NFL. The Bengals were an expansion team, being granted a franchise in 1967 and began the exhibition of football games in competition with other NFL teams in 1968.

7. During six seasons of competition in the NFL the Bengals have achieved greater success than is normally expected from an "expansion" team. They have won their division title twice and are currently regarded as a serious contender for the World Championship.

8. The success of the plaintiff's football team is due in large part to the careful selection of players and the grooming and training of these players by the Bengals' coaching staff after they join the team. It is the coaching philosophy of Paul Brown, head coach of the Bengals, and his coaching staff to acquire young, quality players who can be moulded into highly trained units, i. e., the offensive line unit, the defensive unit, etc. These quality players are plaintiff's most valuable assets (tr. 5/1/74, pp. 65-68).

9. Professional football players possess unique talents and skills. This is recognized in their contracts. The pertinent provisions of the Standard Player Contract of the NFL are ¶¶ 6 and 8 which provide:

6. The Player represents and warrants that he is and will continue to be sufficiently highly skilled in all types of football team play, to play professional football of the caliber required by the League and by the Club, and that he is and will continue to be in excellent physical condition, and agrees to perform his services hereunder to the complete satisfaction of the Club and its Head Coach.

* * * * * *

8. The Player hereby represents that he has special, exceptional and unique knowledge, skill and ability as a football player, the loss of which cannot be estimated with any certainty and cannot be fairly or adequately compensated by damages and therefore agrees that the Club shall have the right, in addition to any other rights which the Club may possess, to enjoin him by appropriate injunction proceedings against playing football or any other professional sport, without the consent of the Club, or engaging in activities related to football for any person, firm, corporation, institution, or on his own behalf, and against any other breach of this contract. (Ex. attached to Amended Complaint)

10. The WFL and its member teams, all defendants herein, seek to establish a new league of professional football teams. Each of the WFL member teams is currently engaged in the formation of a professional football team which will compete with the other WFL teams. With one or two exceptions, all of such teams have stadiums in which to stage their football games and are currently engaged in selling tickets for the upcoming 1974 season. For example, Mr. Putnam, one of the owners of the Birmingham Americans and a witness for the defendants, testified that to date 12,000 season tickets had been sold for the coming season. The Americans will play in a stadium that seats 70,000 people (tr. 5/2/74, p. 84).

New leagues have emerged before on two occasions to compete with NFL, one being the All American Conference and the other American Football League. In neither case did the members of the new league bid for the future services of players under contract with the NFL.

EVENTS LEADING UP TO THIS LAWSUIT

11. The WFL and NFL each held a college draft in 1974. Of the college players drafted by the teams in both leagues, at least 50 signed with the newly organized WFL teams. At least 83 former NFL players, i. e., players formerly under contract to NFL teams but free of any contract obligations to those teams, have signed contracts with WFL teams to play in the upcoming 1974 season. WFL's own promotional brochure (px 6) represents that there is an ample presently available supply of football players to complete the 35-man roster (plus 6 on the taxi squad) of the WFL teams. In this connection it is noteworthy that the director of player personnel for the Chicago Fire, one of the WFL teams, testified that the Fire has currently 300 players under contract from which to select its squad (tr. 5/2/74, p. 19).

12. In order to further its own interests by giving the new league "credibility" in the eyes of prospective fans and players and to have established NFL stars on its rosters in future years, the WFL and its member teams have adopted a plan to sign such veteran NFL players to future service contracts. On at least one occasion (Csonka, Kiick, and Warfield) all the WFL member teams contributed to a fund to be used to induce such star NFL players to sign contracts with a WFL team for future services (tr. 5/1/74, pp. 140, 149; 52/74, pp. 14-16).

13. On April 9, 1974, Steve Chomyszak signed a contract to play professional football for the Philadelphia Bell, one of the newly organized WFL teams. The contract provides that Chomyszak shall begin playing football for the Bell at the conclusion of his contract with the Bengals unless he is sooner released by the Bengals in which event the contract "accelerates" and becomes effective for the 1974 season. Chomyszak is currently in his "option" year with the Bengals. His salary with the Philadelphia Bell will be greater than his salary with the Bengals. Chomyszak was asked to participate in a press conference to announce his signing with the Philadelphia Bell, but he was unable to do so because of illness (tr. 4/29/74, pp. 106-23).

14. Bill Bergey is currently under contract to play football for the Bengals through May, 1975. Under that contract the Bengals have the option to extend the term for an additional year. Bergey is the starting middle linebacker for the Bengals. He has been on the team for six years during which time his training and experience have made him one of the...