In a significant legal victory for the NFL, a federal judge overturned a jury verdict in the NFL’s Sunday Ticket lawsuit on Thursday, providing a substantial win for the league ahead of the 2024 season, told The New York Times.
Earlier this summer, a jury in Los Angeles found that the NFL had violated federal antitrust laws by selling its Sunday Ticket package exclusively on DirecTV at inflated prices. This verdict exposed the league to potential liabilities exceeding $14 billion in damages.
The ruling came under scrutiny in recent days after U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez, who presided over the case, indicated on Wednesday that the jury did not adhere to his instructions when determining damages, according to Courthouse News. The jury had awarded more than $4.6 billion in damages to the residential class and nearly $97 million to the commercial class. However, Gutierrez stated that the jury relied on their own calculations, rather than evidence, to arrive at these figures. Under federal antitrust laws, damages can be tripled, potentially escalating the NFL’s liability to over $14 billion.
In his decision, Gutierrez wrote, “The jury’s damages awards were not based on the ‘evidence and reasonable inferences’ but instead were more akin to ‘guesswork or speculation,’” according to Front Office Sports. Notably, no new trial was ordered.
In response to the ruling, the NFL issued a statement expressing gratitude: “We are grateful for today’s ruling in the Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit. We believe that the NFL’s media distribution model provides our fans with an array of options to follow the game they love, including local broadcasts of every single game on free over-the-air television. We thank Judge Gutierrez for his time and attention to this case and look forward to an exciting 2024 NFL season,” said the NFL via Front Office Sports’ A.J. Perez.
The class-action lawsuit, filed earlier this year, accused the NFL of violating antitrust laws by restricting competition to protect its deals with Fox and CBS for Sunday afternoon games. DirecTV held the exclusive rights to Sunday Ticket from 1994 to 2022, after which YouTube TV acquired the rights before the 2023 season. The package typically costs $349 per season.
The plaintiffs argued that the NFL kept Sunday Ticket prices artificially high, profiting off fans eager to watch their favorite teams’ out-of-market games and bars looking to attract game-day customers. This practice, the lawsuit contended, priced out many fans, forcing them to watch only local games.
The NFL defended Sunday Ticket as a premium service with a corresponding premium price. “The case is about choice,” NFL attorney Beth Wilkinson told the jury. “This is a valuable, premium product. Think about all the choices available to fans? We want as many people as possible to watch the free broadcasts.”
Initially, the plaintiffs sought $7 billion in damages. After the jury’s verdict, the NFL announced plans to appeal, arguing that the damages were “excessive and unreasonable.”
While this legal battle is likely far from over, the NFL secured a crucial victory just before the first preseason game of the 2024 season kicks off in Canton, Ohio.