In a class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL, a federal judge overturned a jury’s $4.7 billion verdict and granted judgment to the NFL. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled that the testimonies of two witnesses for the subscribers had flawed methodologies and should have been excluded. Without these testimonies, he stated that no reasonable jury could have found class-wide injury or damages. The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package from the 2011 through 2022 seasons.
Following the ruling, the NFL released a statement expressing gratitude for the decision in the Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit. The league believes its media distribution model provides fans with various options to follow the game they love, including local broadcasts available on free over-the-air television. The NFL thanked Judge Gutierrez for his attention to the case and looks forward to an exciting 2024 NFL season. This ruling overturns the jury’s decision to award $4.7 billion in damages to residential and commercial subscribers after finding the NFL in violation of antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
The jury had found the NFL liable for $4,610,331,671.74 in damages to the residential class (home subscribers) and $96,928,272.90 in damages to the commercial class (business subscribers). With the potential for damages to be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could have been liable for up to $14,121,779,833.92. This is not the first time the NFL has won a judgment as a matter of law in this case, which has been ongoing since 2015. Previous rulings in the case have been issued and appealed, with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstating the case after it was dismissed by a lower court.
In 2017, U.S. District Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell dismissed the lawsuit, ruling in favor of the NFL, stating that “Sunday Ticket” did not reduce the output of NFL games and that inflated prices charged by DirecTV did not constitute harm to competition. Despite this ruling, the case was reinstated by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals two years later. It is likely that the plaintiffs will once again appeal to the 9th Circuit following this recent judgment in favor of the NFL. The legal battle between the NFL and the “Sunday Ticket” subscribers continues, with ongoing disputes over antitrust laws and damages suffered by subscribers.
