Professional sports in the United States are monopolies.

• A. Not sure
• B. True
• C. False
• D. Depends on the league

Answer: (B)

This tests how professional sports leagues in the U.S. organize competition as monopolies or cartels. In the United States, a sport usually has one dominant professional league that controls most teams, players, and the rights to broadcast games. This central authority sets rules, determines how new teams join (through licensing or expansion), and negotiates salaries and revenue sharing through a collective bargaining framework with the players’ union. The combination of exclusive territorial rights, a closed league structure with limited or no promotion, and centralized sale of national media rights gives the league substantial control over the professional product in that sport. Because of this centralized, market-dominating role, the statement is true. There are other forms of competition in other contexts (like boxing or leagues in other countries), but within the U.S. professional team sports, the governing league effectively acts as a monopoly over the sport.