The National Football League suffered a significant legal blow on Thursday when a federal judge ruled against the league in a high-profile class-action lawsuit. According to the ruling, the NFL must pay $4.7 billion in residential class damages and an additional $96 million in commercial class damages. This decision brings to a close nearly a decade-long court battle that questions the legality of the NFL's "Sunday Ticket" package in relation to antitrust laws.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2015, contended that the NFL's "Sunday Ticket" package unlawfully bundled out-of-market games, thereby monopolizing the sports broadcasting market. "Sunday Ticket," introduced in 1994, has long been a favored service among fans eager to watch their home teams play, regardless of where they live. However, the plaintiffs argued that the package’s exclusivity and high price limited consumer choice and violated antitrust principles.
Amanda Bonn, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, emphatically highlighted the restrictive nature of the "Sunday Ticket" package. "NFL, Fox, and DirecTV agreed to make an expensive toll road that very few people would be able to afford," she stated. "Every single competitor in this scheme benefited."
Her frustration underscores the crux of the lawsuit: a lack of choice for sports fans. This sentiment was echoed by Beth Wilkinson, one of the defendants' attorneys, who argued, "The case is about choice. This is a valuable, premium product. Think about all the choices available to fans. We want as many people as possible to watch the free broadcasts."
Despite the NFL's defense, the judge's verdict sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that the league and its broadcasting partners created an unfair marketplace. The class-action suit scrutinized both residential and commercial subscribers who utilized the service from 2012 to 2022, a group estimated to encompass nearly 2.5 million customers.
The ruling falls considerably short of the $7 billion that plaintiffs initially sought, but it still represents a substantial financial hit to the NFL. The league expressed its disappointment through an official statement: "We are disappointed with the jury's verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit. We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy...is by far the most fan-friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment. We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit."
The NFL has announced plans to appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit, which could prolong the legal battle. One of their arguments is that "Sunday Ticket" was always intended to be an additional, optional package for fans, a point emphasized by Steve Bornstein, a former executive involved in launching the service. "The NFL always wanted 'Sunday Ticket' to be an additional package. That is how it was designed since its inception," he remarked.
The lawsuit also casts a spotlight on the broader issue of exclusive sports broadcasting packages. With the recent transfer of "Sunday Ticket" rights from DirecTV to YouTube TV, the landscape is already shifting. DirecTV held these rights from the package's inception in 1994 until 2022. The ruling might prompt further examination of similar exclusive deals in the sports broadcasting industry.
This is not the first major settlement involving the NFL in recent years. In 2021, the league settled for $790 million with the city of St. Louis and other entities over the relocation of the Rams, highlighting the ongoing legal and financial challenges faced by the league.
A hearing is scheduled for July 31, where post-trial motions, including a potential overturning of the verdict, will be considered. Pending the appeal, this ruling could have significant ramifications for how sports broadcasting is structured and consumed in the future.