NFL fans are finding themselves with the possible entitlement of money following recent legal bindings that have been placed against the National Football League. The recent court ruling against the “Sunday Ticket” streaming service package may pay subscribers back the money they have spent to view “out of market” games which was found to be breaking anti-trust laws.
The initial court ruling against the sports entertainment company was delivered on June 27th in Los Angeles, where a U.S. district court jury demanded the NFL pay reimbursements following the NFL’s breaching of antitrust laws. ESPN reported that the recent lawsuit involved 48,000 businesses as well as 2.4 million residential subscribers who previously signed up for the streaming package to view the out-of-market games. The subscriptions date back from 2011 to 2022 on Direct TV. ESPN further reported that the lawsuit against the NFL claimed the league broke said antitrust laws by selling the streaming packages of the Sunday football games at an inflated price. The court ruling also found that the NFL restricted competition from other streaming platforms.
The recent verdict was found to be a potentially costly one for the league. ESPN reported that the California jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential subscribers and another $96 million to the commercial subscribers. These pricey damages could be tripled under federal antitrust laws which could ultimately wind up costing the NFL $14.39 billion.
Although the NFL has not made any statements regarding the lawsuit, the league confirmed that the costly total would not sit well with executives. On Thursday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke to CNBC for a diverse interview, however many viewers were concerned about what Goodell would have to say about the near-$15 billion charge. Goodell stated that the NFL disagrees with the verdict, but is committed to following the further legal process, in which Goodell stated, is a “long process”.
