The NFL has been ordered by a federal jury to pay $4.7 billion in residential damages and $96 million in commercial damages in a class action lawsuit brought against the league by subscribers to “NFL Sunday Ticket.” The verdict was first reported by journalist Meghann Cuniff.
The lawsuit alleged that the NFL, its teams and its network partners (DirecTV, CBS, ESPN and Fox) violated antitrust rules by conspiring to restrict competition and price out-of-market TV packages to sell.
Jury in Sunday Ticket antitrust trial orders NFL to pay $96 million in damages to commercial class and $4 BILLION in damages to residential class.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) June 27, 2024
The plaintiffs included more than 2.4 million private subscribers and more than 48,000 restaurants, bars and other commercial establishments who had purchased a subscription to “Sunday Ticket.” The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 on behalf of San Francisco sports bar Mucky Duck, alleging that DirecTV, CBS, ESPN and Fox violated antitrust law by suppressing competition in exclusive agreements with the NFL that limited fans’ ability to watch games outside their view homeland, limited.
DirecTV exclusively offered the “NFL Sunday Ticket” package from 1994 through 2022.
The plaintiffs sought $7 billion in damages in the lawsuit. Under federal antitrust law, damages can triple, so the $4 billion judgment will increase to $12 billion, according to Spotrac.
The #NFL has been ordered to pay $96 million in commercial class damages and $4 BILLION in residential class damages under today’s guilty verdict in the Sunday Ticket antitrust lawsuit.
Under federal antitrust law, that $4 billion actually becomes $12 billion. The plantiffs were looking for…
— Spotrac (@spotrac) June 27, 2024
The NFL plans to appeal the decision to U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez, arguing that the damages are “excessive and unreasonable,” via Michael McCann of Sportico. The league also released a statement saying it was “disappointed with the jury’s verdict today.”
“We will certainly appeal this decision as we believe the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit,” the NFL said in the statement.
A federal judge ordered it @NFL to pay $4 billion in private household damages and $96 million in commercial damages to fans and bars respectively in the Sunday Ticket case.
In the statement below, the league said it will appeal the decision. photo.twitter.com/pWpXEpfe4L
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 27, 2024
The NFL and team owners, including Robert Kraft and Commissioner Roger Goodell, argued in testimony that “Sunday Ticket” was “a premium product” that was not aimed at attracting large numbers of subscribers because the league did not want to negatively impact the ratings of its TV partners.
“The NFL has never let prices drop again,” said attorney Amanda Bonn, citing a 2012 drop in DirecTV prices that resulted in a 40% increase in subscribers. “This is how an illegal antitrust system works.”
One of the closing arguments that convinced the jury was a 2017 memo from the NFL stating that the league was exploring the option of broadcasting out-of-region games on cable if the decision was made to close “Sunday Ticket” , as the agreement with DirecTV was about to expire.
In their pleadings, the plaintiffs cite a 2017 NFL memo that shows the league is considering broadcasting non-league games on cable if it decides to scrap Sunday Ticket.
— Joe Reedy (@joereedy) June 26, 2024
Additionally, a 2021 email from ESPN proposed a smaller package (presumably for a single-team subscription) priced at $70 per season, which the NFL rejected, according to The Boston Globe. The “Sunday Ticket” service is now available through YouTube TV and cost $349 last season.
Given that the lawsuit involved competition law, the NFL’s decision to retain attorney Beth Wilkinson was notable. She has no experience in litigating such cases, a source told Don Van Natta Jr. from ESPN.
Source adds that Beth Wilkinson “has almost no antitrust experience… The NFL gave the plaintiffs a layup. The league really screwed up.”
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) June 27, 2024
The NFL will now file post-trial motions to be heard by Judge Gutierrez on July 31. Gutierrez previously expressed frustration with the way the plaintiffs handled this case by overcomplicating it and might disagree with the verdict. The judge could also be asked to consider changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package, according to Front Office Sports.
If the ruling is upheld, the NFL will appeal the ruling. This is expected to stall the case for months, if not years, and delay any payments the plaintiffs may receive. Any proposed changes to the ‘Sunday Ticket’ offering for subscribers will also be implemented.
