National Football League v. Governor of Delaware

The Delaware Lottery (lottery) ran several contests (collectively, Scoreboard) based on the scores of National Football League (NFL) (plaintiff) games during the 1976 season. The lottery did not use NFL team names in its contest, instead referring to teams by their home cities. The lottery did, however, utilize the NFL’s publicly available schedule and scores after such information was widely disseminated. The NFL sued, among others, the governor of Delaware (governor) (defendant), asserting numerous claims, including claims for misappropriation and unfair competition. The NFL’s claims centered on its alleged reputational harm and loss of goodwill from being associated with gambling, which the NFL sought to support with a consumer survey. The NFL also submitted survey evidence showing that a substantial portion of the relevant public believed that the NFL sponsored or approved Scoreboard. The NFL’s requested relief included an order requiring the lottery to turn over to the NFL the proceeds the lottery received from Scoreboard. In response, the governor argued, among other things, that the lottery did not use commercially valuable NFL information and that there was no evidence that the extensive legal and illegal gambling on NFL games other than Scoreboard had injured the NFL. The court issued its posttrial findings of fact and conclusions of law.