Here’s what you need to know about the NFL Sunday Ticket verdict and what’s next

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The NFL has been found guilty of violating antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games through its “Sunday Ticket” premium subscription service.

Even though a jury of five men and three women in a U.S. District Court awarded nearly $4.8 billion on Thursday regarding compensation for “Sunday Ticket” subscribers in households and commercial premises, no billing checks or closure of the service are expected in the near future.

What did the jury find?

The league violated antitrust laws by selling “Sunday Ticket” exclusively on DirecTV and at an inflated price. By offering the service through only one distributor and at a high price, it limited the subscriber base and allayed the concerns of CBS and Fox about maintaining local viewership while the NFL was receiving a lot of money for its broadcast rights.

How long did the process take?

Three weeks. It began with opening statements June 6 and included 10 days of testimony before closing arguments Wednesday. The jury deliberated for nearly five hours Wednesday and Thursday before reaching its decision.

The NFL called commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to testify, but it didn’t help. The plaintiffs relied mainly on economists and videotapes of pretrial depositions.

Who were the plaintiffs?

The class action lawsuit covered more than 2.4 million individual subscribers and 48,000 businesses, mostly bars and restaurants, that purchased “NFL Sunday Ticket” between June 17, 2011 and February 7, 2023.

How is the damage divided?

The jury awarded $4.7 billion to individual subscribers and $96 million to businesses. Because damages are tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could face up to $14.39 billion if the settlement is not reached or is reduced

The residential damages were slightly less than the $5.6 billion offered by plaintiffs under the college football model, but more than the model in which the Sunday Ticket would have had multiple carriers and a 49.7% ($2.81 billion) reduction in subscription costs.

The business damages were significantly lower than the plaintiffs presented under any of the three models. The lowest amount was $332 million under the so-called “NFL tax” model.

How will the NFL pay compensation?

It would be split evenly among the 32 teams. That means each team could pay as much as $449.6 million.

Will there be any immediate changes?

Changes to the Sunday Ticket package and/or the way the NFL conducts Sunday afternoon games will be on hold until all appeals are resolved. Consideration may be given to offering team or weekly packages with a price reduction.

ESPN proposed introducing a $70-per-season “Sunday Ticket” option with team packages in 2022, but the NFL rejected the proposal before moving to YouTube TV.

If the NFL had offered team-specific packages from the beginning, it’s likely none of the key class members would have been involved in the lawsuit.

Rob Lippincott — a New Orleans native who moved to California — purchased a “Sunday Ticket” just for Saints games.

“He just wanted the Saints. If he had the choice to purchase a single-team package and watch Saints games, he certainly would have done so, said plaintiff’s attorney Amanda Bonn during her June 6 opening statement.

If college football had to change, why couldn’t it change for the NFL?

The landmark 1984 college football television case was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. It happened at the U.S. District Court level.

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

This wouldn’t be the first time the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has heard this case.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by San Francisco sports bar Mucky Duck. On June 30, 2017, U.S. District Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell dismissed the lawsuit and ruled in favor of the NFL. Two years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the case.

What were the key elements of the plaintiff’s case?

In his closing speech: lead attorney Bill Carmody showed an NFL memo from April 2017. That showed the league was exploring a world without the “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, in which cable channels aired out-of-market games on Sunday afternoons that weren’t carried by Fox or CBS.

Judge Philip S. Gutierrez expressed disappointment with the plaintiffs’ lawyers halfway through the hearing, but Carmody’s closing argument was clear and easy to understand.

Was the NFL weaker in this process?

The NFL may be the king of American sports and one of the most powerful leagues in the world, but it often loses in the courts, especially in Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles federal court in 1982 that a jury ruled that the league had violated antitrust rules by not allowing Al Davis to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles.

What’s next?

All eyes are on July 31, when Gutierrez is scheduled to rule on post-trial motions. That will include the NFL’s request to enter a judgment in favor of the league, because the judge found the plaintiffs failed to prove their case.

Could this affect other sports?

All major leagues in the US offer out-of-market packages. They are watching this closely because individual teams selling their broadcast rights off-market, especially in baseball, would further separate the haves from the have-nots.

The key difference, however, is that the MLB, NBA and NHL sell their packages off-market to multiple distributors and share the revenue per subscriber, rather than receiving a direct rights fee.

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