10
Opinion of the Court
II
A
Although the Sherman Act, by its terms, prohibits every agreement "in restraint of trade," this Court has long recognized that Congress intended to outlaw only unreasonable restraints. See, e. g., Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Soc., 457 U. S. 332, 342-343 (1982) (citing United States v. Joint Traffic Assn., 171 U. S. 505 (1898)). As a consequence, most antitrust claims are analyzed under a "rule of reason," according to which the finder of fact must decide whether the questioned practice imposes an unreasonable restraint on competition, taking into account a variety of factors, including specific information about the relevant business, its condition before and after the restraint was imposed, and the restraint's history, nature, and effect. 457 U. S., at 343, and n. 13 (citing Board of Trade of Chicago v. United States, 246 U. S. 231, 238 (1918)).
Some types of restraints, however, have such predictable and pernicious anticompetitive effect, and such limited potential for procompetitive benefit, that they are deemed unlawful per se. Northern Pacific R. Co. v. United States, 356 U. S. 1, 5 (1958). Per se treatment is appropriate "[o]nce experience with a particular kind of restraint enables the Court to predict with confidence that the rule of reason will condemn it." Maricopa County, supra, at 344; see also Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., 441 U. S. 1, 19, n. 33 (1979). Thus, we have expressed reluctance to adopt per se rules with regard to "restraints imposed in the context of business relationships where the economic impact of certain practices is not immediately obvious." FTC v. Indiana Federation of Dentists, 476 U. S. 447, 458-459 (1986).
A review of this Court's decisions leading up to and beyond Albrecht is relevant to our assessment of the continuing validity of the per se rule established in Albrecht. Beginning
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