Jury finds NFL violated antitrust laws in ‘Sunday Ticket’ case, awards $4.7 billion in damages

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury in a U.S. District Court on Thursday ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages after ruling that the league violated antitrust law by broadcasting out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.

The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Because damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could ultimately be liable for $14.39 billion.

The lawsuit targeted 2.4 million individual subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States 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.

The NFL said it will appeal the ruling, which will go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then likely to the Supreme Court.

If the NFL decides to pay the compensation, it could cost each of the 32 teams approximately $449.6 million.

“We are disappointed with today’s jury verdict in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement. “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 user-friendly fans the distribution model across sports and entertainment.

“We will certainly challenge this decision as we believe the class action claims in this case are without merit and without substance.”

The trial lasted three weeks and featured testimony from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“Justice has become a fact. The ruling upholds consumer protection in our class. “It was a great day for consumers,” said plaintiffs attorney Bill Carmody.

In his closing remarks, Carmody showed an April 2017 NFL memo that showed that in 2017 the league was exploring a world without “Sunday Ticket,” in which cable channels aired out-of-market games on Sunday afternoons that were not shown on Fox nor CBS.

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

Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is scheduled to hear post-trial motions on July 31, including the NFL’s request to rule in the league’s favor because the judge found the plaintiffs had failed to prove their case.

Compensation payments, any changes to the Sunday Ticket package and/or the manner in which the NFL broadcasts Sunday afternoon games will be on hold until all appeals are resolved.

The league maintained that it had the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs said this only applies to terrestrial broadcasts, not pay TV.

Other professional sports leagues have also been following this case as they also offer out-of-market packages. The main difference, however, is that MLB, NBA and NHL sell their packages to multiple distributors and share the revenue per subscriber instead of receiving a rights fee.

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

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by San Francisco sports bar Mucky Duck, but was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reopened the case. Last year, Gutierrez ruled that the case could be litigated as a class action.

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