Per multiple reports, the jury ruled against the NFL in the Sunday Ticket trial. The league was ordered to pay billions of dollars in damages after it was found to break antitrust laws.
The NFL was involved in a class-action lawsuit
Per an article by ESPN, the jury was allowed to award up to $7 billion in damages. Because of antitrust laws, the number awarded by the jury is allowed to triple for the highly publicized class action lawsuit:
The class action, which covers 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons, claims the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games aired on CBS and Fox at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
The NFL maintains it has the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs say that only covers over-the-air broadcasts and not pay TV.
The judge in the trial voiced his frustrations days ago
As previously discussed on GH, there was a curious moment in the trial a couple of weeks ago when it was uncertain if the judge would let the plaintiffs proceed in the trial:
Days after Jones and NFL commissioner Roger Goodel took the stand, Gutierrez has expressed his frustration at how the plaintiffs have presented their case. In an article posted on ESPN, the judge’s frustration is detailed.
Before Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took the stand Tuesday for a second day of testimony, U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez said the premise of the case was simple — who wouldn’t see the frustration of a Seattle Seahawks fan living in Los Angeles not being able to see their favorite team without buying a subscription for all the Sunday afternoon out-of-market games.
“The way you have tried this case is far from simple,” Gutierrez told attorneys representing the subscribers. “This case has turned into 25 hours of depositions and gobbledygook. … This case has gone in a direction it shouldn’t have gone,” the article stated.
The trial continued, and the jury began their deliberations on Wednesday. They reached their verdict on Thursday.
The league lost the Sunday Ticket trial
Per Meghann Cuniff, the jury ordered the NFL to pay over $4 billion in damages:
Jury in the Sunday Ticket antitrust trial orders NFL to pay $96 million in damages to commercial class and $4 BILLION in damages to the residential class.
Because the verdict is under an antitrust law, the NFL is on the hook for over $12 billion.
Per Ari Meriov with the 33rd Team, the NFL released a statement after the verdict was read. They plan to appeal the verdict:
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit. We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit. We thank the jury for their time and service and for the guidance and oversight from Judge Gutierrez throughout the trial.”
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