Ben Gilbert

And the answer is yet again,

the law of the land in the United States.

So in October, Congress actually passed a law to allow this merger and grant yet another antitrust exemption.

This time, Lyndon Johnson signed it into law.

And you might say, well, why did they need another one?

Well, the merger of two completely different organizations that were competitors, that's kind of a different thing than allowing one ownership group or one trade organization to negotiate on behalf of a bunch of sort of member teams.

So this actually is a different antitrust issue.

And so Roselle and the NFL are calling on all the favors they can get, but the bill that will allow them to do this is stuck in committee.

And so here's the paragraph out of America's Game.

Roselle, seeking a way to break the logjam, called his friend David Dixon to see if he knew a North Louisiana congressman on the committee.

For someone as sophisticated as Pete, he was rather naive when it came to politics, said Dixon.

And so he eventually finds his way to the House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, who is an old fraternity brother of Dixon's at Tulane.

And he said, I can find the votes for this.

I'm going to quote this again.

Walking up the stairs of the rotunda when the vote looked like a sure thing, Rozelle was ever his usual humble self.

Congressman Boggs, I don't know how I can ever thank you enough for this.

This is a terrific thing you've done.

What do you mean you don't know how to thank me?

He said, New Orleans gets an immediate franchise in the NFL.

And Roselle says, I'm going to do everything I can to make that happen.