NFL ordered to pay billions of dollars in compensation for ‘overbilled’ Sunday Ticket

The NFL suffered a huge defeat on Thursday and was ordered to pay nearly $4.8 billion in antitrust damages in a class-action lawsuit over the pricing of DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket” packages.

A Los Angeles jury unanimously ruled that the league conspired with DirecTV, CBS and Fox to inflate prices for the premium product.

The jury deliberated for about five hours over two days. If the verdict stands, the jury found the league owed $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class.

Under federal law, the NFL could be liable for up to $14.1 billion, triple the amount of the antitrust win.

An NFL spokesperson said, “We are disappointed with today’s jury verdict in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit. 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 a variety of additional options including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan-friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment. We will certainly challenge this decision, as we believe the class action claims in this case are without merit and without merit. We thank the jury for its time and service, as well as Judge Gutierrez’s guidance and supervision throughout this process.”

The lawsuit targeted 2.4 million individual and 48,000 business subscribers who paid for a bundle of out-of-market games from the 2011-2022 seasons on DirecTV.

The trial lasted three weeks and included testimony from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, among others.

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Bill Carmody, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said: “It is a great verdict for consumers across America that the jury, despite the defendants’ popularity, upheld antitrust laws designed to protect consumers from inflated prices.

“Justice has been served.”

The next step in resolving the dispute will likely be the filing of post-trial motions, which will be considered by the judge presiding over the case on July 31.

If the judgment is not overturned, the judge will likely be asked to consider possible structural changes to the Sunday Ticket package, and the plaintiff’s lawyers will apply to be awarded their legal fees.

Once these issues are resolved, the league will appeal any adverse rulings to the Ninth Circuit. The NFL expects that payment of any damages and imposition of any structural changes to the Sunday Ticket package will be withheld until all appeals are resolved.

The jury began deliberating Wednesday afternoon after the parties’ closing arguments and instructions from U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez. The jury’s deliberations continued on Thursday.

It took nearly a decade for the case to work its way through the legal ecosystem, starting in 2015 when the Mucky Duck pub in San Francisco filed a complaint about the NFL’s handling of out-of-market broadcasts.

The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 2.4 million home subscribers and more than 48,000 restaurants, bars and other commercial properties that broadcast the games. It focused on the “Sunday Ticket” package — currently sold through YouTube TV — which allows subscribers access to out-of-market broadcasts of all Sunday games that air on CBS and Fox.

These aren’t specials, but they are identical to what people see in different national markets. The league estimates that just 3% of fans subscribe to the “Sunday Ticket,” which costs $449 this season before any discounts or promotions.

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The plaintiffs alleged that the NFL worked with network partners CBS and Fox, as well as DirecTV, to ensure that “Sunday Ticket” prices remained high, thereby violating antitrust law.

The plaintiffs sought damages of $7 billion for 2011-2022, and in antitrust cases the amounts are three times higher. This $21 billion will be enough to purchase an entire division consisting of four teams.

The NFL argued that it had no control over “Sunday Ticket” prices, but DirecTV did, and often gave away the premium product for free to attract subscribers. Attorneys representing the league have often pointed out that the NFL is the only major sports league that provides fans with 100% of its local games on free over-the-air television.

“This is a valuable, high-quality product and the prices were reasonable,” said Beth Wilkinson, representing the NFL, in her opening statement. “Fans do not have to buy a Sunday Ticket… The league wants as many people as possible to watch the free broadcasts.”

Wilkinson said that after taking into account promotions and giveaways, the average Sunday Ticket price during the period was $102.70 per season.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.