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Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB), is engaged in high-stakes negotiation with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) over the possible creation of a first-ever international draft to regulate how MLB teams select international baseball players to join their organizations. Currently, players from outside North America are treated as free agents who can sign with any team once they reach 16 years of age, a system that has worked well for some MLB teams and prospects but also created the potential for scandal, corruption, and abuse. A few months earlier, Manfred submitted a proposal to the MLBPA describing an international draft format acceptable to team owners and the league office. In response, MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark and his staff formulated a counterproposal that they have just submitted to Manfred. Manfred needs to figure out what aspects of the counterproposal, if any, are acceptable to MLB and to develop a negotiating strategy that will allow him to reach an agreement with the MLBPA on an international draft once and for all. This case, which is paired with "Fair Play at Home Plate: Negotiating the Creation of an International Draft-Tony Clark" (UVA-S-0448), allows instructors to set up a negotiation exercise between groups of students, some of whom receive Manfred's version and some of whom receive Clark's. Each case consists of a common general overview of MLB's history and its current environment as well as differing professional and personal details and negotiation priorities for each party. Students can apply their understanding of their version of the case to a live negotiation and use a provided worksheet to record the outcome.

Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), is engaged in high-stakes negotiation with Major League Baseball (MLB) over the possible creation of a first-ever international draft to regulate how MLB teams select international baseball players to join their organizations. Currently, players from outside North America are treated as free agents who can sign with any team once they reach 16 years of age, a system that has worked well for some MLB teams and prospects but also created the potential for scandal, corruption, and abuse. A few months earlier, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred submitted a proposal to the MLBPA describing an international draft format acceptable to team owners and the league office. In response, Clark and his staff formulated a counterproposal that they have just submitted to Manfred. Now, Clark needs to formulate a negotiation strategy that will determine whether the MLBPA can reach an agreement with MLB on an international draft once and for all. This case, which is paired with "Fair Play at Home Plate: Negotiating the Creation of an International Draft-Rob Manfred" (UVA-S-0447), allows instructors to set up a negotiation exercise between groups of students, some of whom receive Clark's version and some of whom receive Manfred's. Each case consists of a common general overview of MLB's history and its current environment as well as differing professional and personal details and negotiation priorities for each party. Students can apply their understanding of their version of the case to a live negotiation and use a provided worksheet to record the outcome.

Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), needs to determine how the league should proceed in pursuing an international growth strategy. Traditionally, American football has trailed other sports such as basketball in terms of global participation and fan interest. However, under Goodell's leadership, the NFL has played an increasing number of games outside the United States, launched a variety of international marketing programs, and experienced record global viewership. It is Goodell's responsibility to act in the best interests of the 32 league owners who have chosen him as commissioner. The increasing popularity of the NFL outside the United States causes Goodell to wonder just how far the league should go in expanding internationally in the upcoming years. This case focuses on global management, the integration of business strategy, and organizational design in a setting where there is no proven answer or playbook to be followed. The NFL, like many larger and highly successful American organizations, is not lacking for funds, resources, or international opportunities. Yet it is still challenged by the complex task of expanding a highly US-centric product to other parts of the world where people do not have the same familiarity with its offerings. The case offers an opportunity for students to apply fundamental global management skills-cultural and environmental analysis of countries, organizational structure design, and strategy formulation-in an engaging and visible setting. The material in this case also provides instructors an opportunity to compare and contrast the international strategies and operations of the NFL with other organizations. Comparisons can be made to other professional sports leagues (such as the National Hockey League [NHL], National Basketball Association [NBA], Major League Baseball [MLB], Formula 1, and various professional soccer leagues) as well as to prominent multinational organizations of other types.