Giants potentially looking at big bill as a result of ‘NFL Sunday Ticket’ trial

If the “Sunday Ticket” verdict against the NFL is upheld on appeal, the New York Giants could potentially lose $449.6 million.

Class action lawsuit affected over 2.4 million individual subscribers and 48,000 companies who purchased the “NFL Sunday Ticket” between June 17, 2011 and February 7, 2023. The trial lasted three weeks and included more than ten days of testimony, and ended last Thursday.

A jury of five men and three women found that the league violated antitrust laws by selling “Sunday Ticket” only on DirecTV and at an inflated price, and that the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.

According to multiple reports, the jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Damages awarded under federal antitrust laws could be tripled, meaning that if the verdict is upheld, the NFL could be liable for $14.39 billion, which would be divided among the 32 member clubs to be paid.

“We are disappointed with today’s jury verdict in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the NFL said in a statement following the verdict.

“We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which includes all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in participating team markets and nationwide distribution of our most popular games, complemented by many additional options including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan-friendly a distribution model for sports and entertainment,” the NFL said in a statement.

“We will certainly challenge this decision as we believe the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit. We thank the jury for their time and service, and for Judge (Philip) Gutierrez’s guidance and supervision throughout the trial.”

The NFL will appeal the decision to Judge Gutierrez, calling the damages “excessive and unreasonable.” according to SporticoConsideration of post-trial applications is scheduled for July 31.