Analyst predicts billion-dollar lawsuit ‘could rock the NFL’s cage’

The multi-billion-dollar NFL Sunday Ticket lawsuit is making headlines once again as testimony from league staff begins to emerge in a highly significant class-action antitrust case. At the heart of the case is a colossal $7 billion claim from 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 commercial Sunday Ticket subscribers, a figure that could potentially grow to a staggering $21 billion if federal legislation takes effect.

NFL analyst Mike Florio, who has been closely following developments in this case, recently shed light on the heart of the issue during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Program“

The fundamental question Florio raises is whether the NFL forces Sunday ticket providers to overcharge subscribers, thereby ensuring that a significant portion of fans will instead choose to watch locally televised CBS and FOX games.

“Why do I have to buy a whole year’s ticket if I’m only interested in one team’s match?” Florio became lost in thought. “Why do I have to buy every week when the team I want to watch has a Monday game this week and I have no intention of watching any out-of-market games this weekend?”

If the allegations prove true, they could potentially change the way the NFL brings games to viewers. Moreover, as Florio wisely pointed out, the outcome of a case does not necessarily matter to some extent because “regardless of what happens on appeal, it could be enough to rattle the cage for the NFL” to reconsider how Sunday tickets are distributed.

Moreover, the NFL may eventually consider alternative models, such as offering per-game packages, weekly subscriptions or even more affordable pricing structures. Florio estimates that if the NFL lost this case, everyone would win.

What is the NFL’s potential response to the antitrust lawsuit?

Building on Mike Florio’s insights, Pat McAfee provided a contrasting perspective. He suggested that the NFL could vigorously defend its rights as a business entity to operate in any way it sees fit to further its interests. McAfee referred to a situation where companies sell T-shirts for $150 while others offer similar products at a lower price, underscoring the idea that the final price is a business decision.

However, Florio responded by stating that the NFL’s actions do not necessarily violate antitrust laws. They simply introduced an additional premium product in the form of Sunday Ticket, allowing subscribers to watch games outside of local CBS and FOX Sports broadcasts for a fee.

Florio pointed to the main issue in the case regarding the NFL’s pricing strategy.

“The fight comes down to pricing and whether and to what extent the NFL, working with CBS, FOX and Direct TV, now YouTube TV, is conspiring to essentially fix prices to protect the contracts that pay CBS and FOX billions of dollars to the NFL for Sunday games” he added.

Based on Florio’s updates so far, it appears the NFL is facing an uphill battle as there is a belief that someone within the league’s management is pricing too high, effectively limiting access for many subscribers. Further developments are expected when Commissioner Roger Goodell takes the stand to testify on the matter later today.