The NFL has recently been blindsided in a way they never would have expected. A jury in California rendered a verdict that the league must pay a whopping $4.7 billion over how they’ve been handling their “Sunday Ticket” package. Allegedly, the NFL and its teams have been accused of conspiring to hike prices for fans and businesses interested in watching out-of-market games.
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The league, however, is not taking this decision lying down. In a response shared by WSJ reporter Joe Flint, the NFL expressed its disappointment with the verdict and affirmed that it will challenge this decision.
“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.”
Standing firm, the NFL continued to defend its media distribution strategy. They argued that their approach, which includes free over-the-air broadcasts of all games in participating teams’ markets, national distribution of popular games, and additional options like RedZone, Sunday Ticket, and NFL+, is “by far the most fan-friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.”
NFL statement on verdict in Sunday Ticket Class Action suit.
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit. We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air…— Joe Flint (@JBFlint) June 27, 2024
The financial implications of this ruling are enormous, potentially shaking the NFL’s robust economic foundation. Despite the league’s impressive $18 billion in revenue last year and Commissioner Goodell‘s ambitious $25 billion target for 2027, this verdict could leave a significant dent in their finances. If the NFL ends up paying the damages, each team would be on the hook for approximately $449.6 million.
Jury Reached Verdict Against NFL in Less Than Two Hours, Reveals Lead Attorney
This lawsuit took aim at how the NFL broadcasts its games, claiming the current setup forces fans to shell out more than they should. The lawyers representing the plaintiffs argued that by only letting people watch out-of-market games through the pricey “Sunday Ticket” package, the NFL isn’t playing fair.
Moreover, Bill Carmody, the head lawyer for the plaintiffs, couldn’t help but point out how quickly the jury made up their minds — less than two hours.
“Justice was done, and it was a great day for consumers everywhere. It was a real decisive win,” He told CNN.
Throughout the trial, the subscribers’ legal team fought for more options for NFL fans to enjoy the biggest sport in America. They pushed for a world where you could just buy games for your favorite team, or even pick and choose individual matchups, instead of shelling out for every out-of-market game.
However, reportedly, the jury’s decision was all about the cash. They didn’t dive into how the NFL might shake up its viewing options. So, will the fans ever get to cherry-pick our games? When asked about this, the lead attorney seemed hopeful but did not make any bold predictions. According to him, that’s a whole separate can of worms that the court still needs to crack open.
