Tampa Bay Buccaneers Could Lose $450 Million in NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Lawsuit

The NFL is one of the most successful businesses in the world. Yes, it’s more than just a sport played on the field for the entertainment of spectators—in fact, the NFL is a multi-billion dollar company that continues to expand in all aspects of its empire.

Every team in the NFL is also a business, and therefore the league benefits financially, but those franchises are also responsible for any legal issues the NFL gets into. It looks like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 31 other NFL franchises could be facing hefty fines after the league recently lost a lawsuit.

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The lawsuit, which the NFL lost, comes from customers who bought Sunday Ticket services from DirecTV between 2011 and 2022 because of a lack of competition and inflated prices. The loss resulted in $4.7 billion in damages for consumers and another $95 million for businesses. However, that amount may not be determined because damages can be tripled under antitrust laws. Details of the jury decision against the National Football League can be viewed on ESPN.com.

“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 affected 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States that paid for a package of out-of-market games from the 2011-2022 seasons on DirecTV.”

If those damages actually triple, the league and its franchises will be required to pay $14.39 billion in fees — meaning each franchise will have to pay a combined $450 million. $450 million isn’t a lot of money, but in the bigger picture, NFL team owners have deep pockets and should have no problem shelling out the extra money to help the NFL recover from this decades-old blunder.

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