NFL Sunday Ticket Case Could Cost Texans $450 Million

Last week, the NFL lost an antitrust lawsuit against customers who purchased DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket service from 2011 to 2022 due to a lack of competition and inflated prices.

The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to consumers and nearly $100 million to businesses. The final amount could be much higher, however, because damages can be tripled under antitrust laws. According to ESPN News Services, here are the details of the jury’s decision.

“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 be ordered to pay $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.”

If the league is charged the full $14.39 billion, it would cost each team a total of $450 million, or the same amount as the league’s best player.

It’s a high price to pay for the league’s mistake, but if anyone can afford it, it’s the NFL’s owners. Texans owner Cal McNair’s net worth is reportedly around $3 billion.