The  exercise  of  this  legitimate  control  over  entry  should,  however,  be  care-
fully examined,  for  there  would  seem  to  be  a  built-in  bias  against  expansion,
which  would  bring  dilution  of  the  existing  teams'  position  as  one  of  a  very
few  suppliers  of  a  highly  demanded  service.  More  specifically,  an  increase  in
the  number  of  teams  would  mean  a  smaller  percentage  of  shared  television
and  other  revenues  for  each,*^  and  a  division  of  publicity  and  interest  among
more  units.  In  addition,  if  more  than  one  city  or  syndicate  is  bidding  for  a
new  franchise,  the  power  of  the  league  to  choose  the  successful  applicant  is
subject  to  abuse.*'^.
Many  of  the  problems  associated  with  more  rapid  expansion  seem  surmount-
able. If  balance  is  maintained,  the  dilution  in  ability  of  players  seems  not  to
affect  the  fans'  interest  in  a  sport ;  professional  football  is  booming  although  it
has  gone  from  12  to  25  teams  in  the  last  seven  years,  with  an  inevitable  dis-
persion of  talent.  Similarly,  more  teams  need  not  mean  a  fatal  decline  in  the
excitement  of  the  championship  race;  the  league  can  be  divided  into  smaller
conferences,  as  the  NFL  has  been  this  year,  giving  teams  a  chance  to  compete
for  lower  level  "championships"  as  well  as  for  the  ultimate  prize  as  the  best
professional  team  in  the  sport.
*'-E  0  American  Leapue  Const,  art.  3.1(b)  (1966)  (three-fourths):  NFL  Const,  art.
.Sl(b)  Vl966)  (vote  of  13  of  16  members)  ;  NHL  Const,  art.  3.3  (1947)  (three-foiirths).
