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 over its distribution of Sunday afternoon out-of-market games through its “Sunday Ticket” subscription service.

Even though a U.S. District Court jury of five men and three women awarded nearly $4.8 billion in damages to “Sunday Ticket” residential and commercial subscribers on Thursday, no review of the settlement or shutdown of the service is expected any time soon.

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 addressed CBS and Fox’s concerns about maintaining local viewership, while the NFL received a lot of money for its broadcast rights.

How long did the trial take?

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

The NFL brought commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to testify, but it didn’t help. The plaintiffs mainly used economists and video recordings of pretrial depositions.

Who were the plaintiffs?

The class action lawsuit targeted 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 triple that under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could ultimately face liability of $14.39 billion if it doesn’t settle or have its costs reduced

The compensation for residents was slightly less than the $5.6 billion offered under the plaintiff’s College Football Model, but higher than the amount offered under a model in which Sunday Ticket would have multiple operators and the subscription cost would be $49 lower. .7% ($2.81 billion).

Business damages were significantly lower than the plaintiffs presented in 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 broadcasts its Sunday afternoon games will be put on hold until all appeals are completed. You could consider offering team-by-team or week-by-week packages with a price reduction.

ESPN proposed introducing a $70-per-season “Sunday Ticket” option with team packages in 2022, but the NFL rejected that 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” for Saints games only.

“He just wanted the Saints. If he had the choice to buy a single-team package and watch Saints games, he certainly would,” plaintiffs’ attorney Amanda Bonn said during opening arguments on June 6.

But college football had to change, why not the NFL?

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

The NFL said it would appeal the ruling. That 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 the case.

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

What were the keys to the plaintiffs’ case?

During closing arguments, chief legal counsel Bill Carmody showed an NFL memo from April 2017 that showed the league was considering a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, in which cable channels would air out-of-market Sunday afternoon games that Fox or CBS did not show.

Judge Philip S. Gutierrez expressed disappointment with the plaintiffs’ attorneys midway 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 court, especially in Los Angeles. It was in federal court in Los Angeles in 1982 that a jury ruled that the league had violated antitrust laws by not allowing Al Davis to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles.

What’s next?

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

Could this have an impact on 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 leagues sell their out-of-market packages to multiple distributors and share the revenue per subscriber rather than receiving a direct rights fee.

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