NFL ordered to pay $4.7 billion for antitrust violations in ‘Sunday Ticket’ case

A jury in a U.S. District Court ruled Thursday that the NFL violated antitrust law by broadcasting out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on premium subscription services and awarded nearly $4.7 billion in damages.

The jury ordered the league to pay $4 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class.

The lawsuit targeted 2.4 million individual subscribers and 48,000 businesses who paid for a bundle of out-of-market games from the 2011-2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league violated antitrust law by selling a package of Sunday games at an inflated price. Subscribers also claim that the league has limited competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only through a satellite provider.

Related story: Here’s what you need to know about the lawsuit against the NFL filed by Sunday Ticket subscribers.

The jury of five men and three women deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching their decision.

The NFL is expected to appeal to the 9th Circuit and then possibly to the Supreme Court.

“This issue goes beyond football. This case matters,” plaintiffs’ attorney Bill Carmody said during closing arguments Wednesday. “It’s about justice. It’s about telling the 32 team owners who collectively own all the major television rights, the most popular content in the history of television – this is what they have. It’s about telling them that even you can’t ignore antitrust laws. Even you can’t conspire to overcharge consumers. Even you can’t hide the truth and think you can get away with it.”

The league has maintained that it has the right to sell the “Sunday Ticket” under an antitrust exemption for broadcasts. The plaintiffs argue that this applies only to terrestrial broadcasts, not pay television.

DirecTV has owned “Sunday Ticket” since its inception in 1994-2022. The league signed a seven-year deal with Google YouTube TV that began with the 2023 season.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco, but was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez ruled last year that the case could be handled as a class action.