$4.8 billion in damages are awarded to the NFL in the ‘Sunday Ticket’ antitrust case.

The complaint concerned 48,000 businesses and 2.4 million household customers who paid for the package of out-of-market games on DirecTV during the 2011–2022 season.

TFD – The NFL has been hit with a $4.8 billion verdict in an antitrust lawsuit over its Sunday Ticket package on DirecTV. The jury’s decision highlights significant implications for the league’s media distribution strategy and its future legal battles.

A U.S. District Court jury found on Thursday that the NFL had broken antitrust rules by offering out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service, and the league was forced to pay almost $4.8 billion in penalties.

The jury determined that the residential class should receive $4.7 billion in damages, while the business class should receive $96 million.

The complaint concerned 48,000 businesses and 2.4 million household customers who paid for the package of out-of-market games on DirecTV during the 2011–2022 season. The league was accused in the case of violating antitrust rules by charging an exorbitant fee for its Sunday game package. Additionally, the subscribers claim that by solely providing “Sunday Ticket” through a satellite provider, the league limited competition.

The NFL declared that it would challenge the decision. The 9th Circuit would hear the appeal before maybe going all the way to the Supreme Court.

The NFL released a statement saying, “We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit.” “We firmly believe that our media distribution strategy, which includes nationwide distribution of our most popular games and free over-the-air television broadcasting of all NFL games in the markets of the participating teams, is by far the most fan-friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment. RedZone, Sunday Ticket, and NFL+ are just a few of the many options available.

We will definitely challenge this ruling because we think the class action allegations in this case are unfounded and unworthy of consideration.

Before making a verdict, the five-man and three-woman jury pondered for about five hours.

“This is not just a football matter. During the closing remarks on Wednesday, Bill Carmody, the plaintiffs’ attorney, stated that the case was important. It concerns justice. It’s about letting the 32 club owners know that they are in possession of the most well-known TV material ever produced, as they together have all the major TV rights. Telling them that even you are unable to disobey antitrust laws is the goal. You cannot even conspire to overcharge customers. Even you are unable to conceal the facts and believe you will get away with it.

The league maintained that its broadcasting antitrust exemption gives them the authority to sell “Sunday Ticket.” The plaintiffs claim that excludes pay television and solely covers over-the-air transmissions.

Sunday Ticket was available on DirecTV from the time it launched in 1994 until 2022. Beginning with the 2023 season, the league and Google’s YouTube TV inked a seven-year agreement.

The Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco filed the lawsuit in 2015, but it was dismissed in 2017. The case was reopened two years later by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is responsible for California and eight other states. Last year, Gutierrez decided that a class action could be filed in this case.