When it comes to the $4.696 billion judgment (which legally becomes $14.088 billion) in the Sunday Ticket class action, the NFL stands alone.
None of the money comes from revenue split between the league and the NFL Players Association. It all comes from the money sitting in the coffers of the 32 franchises.
That’s great news for the players, who profited from the antitrust violations. It kept the price of Sunday Ticket at a level that protected the investment of CBS and Fox. People were discouraged from buying Sunday Ticket and encouraged to watch the games on their local TV stations.
The bad news may be that any changes forced by the outcome of the case could theoretically impact future earnings. Since the league and union share the money from TV deals, a reduction in TV revenue will hurt the players.
It’s too early to know at this point whether changes will be needed. The NFL will appeal Thursday’s ruling all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If/when the NFL wins, the money won’t be paid — and the model likely won’t have to change.
Even without a court victory, the information revealed during the trial could generate enough fan and media backlash to force the league to finally get rid of the overpriced out-of-market package and either make it cheaper and more flexible (as ESPN sought to do) or split it across the different channels available on current cable/satellite/streaming packages (as the league considered doing in 2017).
If such changes are implemented, will the NFL generate more or less money than it currently does? Given that professional football remains the only asset that can attract a huge simultaneous audience, those in power will likely find a way to leverage their enviable situation into the one word that got them into this mess in the first place.
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