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

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

Although a jury of five men and three women in U.S. District Court on Thursday awarded nearly $4.8 billion in damages to Sunday Ticket’s individual and commercial subscribers, no review of the settlement or shutdown of the service is expected anytime 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 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 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 covered more than 2.4 million individual subscribers and 48,000 businesses, primarily bars and restaurants, that purchased NFL Sunday Tickets 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).

The damages to the company were significantly lower than those presented by the plaintiff in any of his three models. The lowest amount was $332 million under a model called the “NFL Tax.”

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 complete. Consideration could be given to offering team-by-team or week-by-week packages with a reduced price.

ESPN proposed offering a $70-per-season “Sunday Ticket” as part of team packages in 2022, but the NFL rejected the proposal before it appeared on YouTube TV.

If the NFL had offered team packages all along, one key class member likely would not have been subject to 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 buy a single-team package and watch Saints games, he certainly would,” plaintiffs’ attorney Amanda Bonn said during opening arguments on June 6.

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

The landmark 1984 football television case was decided by the United States Supreme Court. This occurred 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 9th Circuit Division had dealt with such a 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?

During his closing argument, lead attorney Bill Carmody showed an April 2017 NFL memo that showed the league was considering creating a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, in which cable channels would broadcast Sunday afternoon out-of-market games that were not shown on Fox nor CBS.

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 the underdog 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 a federal court in Los Angeles in 1982 that a jury ruled that the league had violated antitrust rules by preventing Al Davis from moving 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. This will include the NFL’s request for a judgment in the league’s favor because the judge found that the plaintiffs had not proven their case.

Could this have an impact on other sports?

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

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

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Joe Reedy, Associated Press