[Goose]

The promotion and relegation rules mean that leagues are not static, and, in theory, it is possible for a plucky upstart to get to and succeed at the highest levels (in practice, of course, it is much harder).  But it is much harder to allege that the leagues use their monopoly power to exclude teams from outside the league.

BC

BC, isn't it more like just a bigger monopoly. The "upstart" teams are like minor league teams. If you are good, you are brought up, and a not-so-good team is relegated. They are all part of the same system. I don't see any possibility of another league being formed to say compete with the Bundesliga or La Liga. Not that I think the system in Germany and Spain (and the rest of Europe) is bad. I think it works well. However, there is no possibility of a anti-trust suit messing up the situation.
In the USA, we have always been in a situation that anybody could "go nuclear" and play the anti-trust card. Most of the time in the case of the NBA or NFL something was worked out that caused the suit to be dropped or to be litigated very narrowly. The compromises (payoffs basically) were not always optimal, but they suppressed the legal issue. In the case of the NCAA however, no compromise was reached and they got hit with a decision. They have also been warned that further litigation can do more damage. In Europe, none of this can happen.

[Goose]

The promotion and relegation rules mean that leagues are not static, and, in theory, it is possible for a plucky upstart to get to and succeed at the highest levels (in practice, of course, it is much harder).  But it is much harder to allege that the leagues use their monopoly power to exclude teams from outside the league.

BC

BC, isn't it more like just a bigger monopoly. The "upstart" teams are like minor league teams. If you are good, you are brought up, and a not-so-good team is relegated. They are all part of the same system. I don't see any possibility of another league being formed to say compete with the Bundesliga or La Liga. Not that I think the system in Germany and Spain (and the rest of Europe) is bad. I think it works well. However, there is no possibility of a anti-trust suit messing up the situation.
In the USA, we have always been in a situation that anybody could "go nuclear" and play the anti-trust card. Most of the time in the case of the NBA or NFL something was worked out that caused the suit to be dropped or to be litigated very narrowly. The compromises (payoffs basically) were not always optimal, but they suppressed the legal issue. In the case of the NCAA however, no compromise was reached and they got hit with a decision. They have also been warned that further litigation can do more damage. In Europe, none of this can happen.