For three decades, fans have been paying steep prices for the Sunday Ticket, lured by the promise of free over-the-air TV. Now, a monumental $4.096 billion verdict has been handed down in a federal class action lawsuit, marking a turning point.
From this amount, $96 million will be awarded to commercial establishments, while the remaining $4 billion is set aside for residential customers.
Due to federal antitrust laws, this amount will be tripled, bringing the total to $12.288 billion.
The decision came after a full day of deliberations, starting Wednesday and wrapping up on Thursday. Just before the announcement, Megan Cuniff noted that the jury had inquired about the annual number of subscribers and their payments, signaling they were determining damages against the NFL.
The NFL has announced its intention to “certainly” appeal the verdict, labeling the lawsuit as “baseless and without merit.” This case might eventually find its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The lawsuit originated in 2015, filed by a San Francisco sports bar named the Mucky Duck. The bar alleged that the NFL’s practice of bundling all out-of-market games into the Sunday Ticket package violated antitrust laws, as it prevented consumers from purchasing packages for individual teams. Initially dismissed in 2017, the case was revived in 2019 and has since grown into a class action lawsuit involving millions of bars, restaurants, and subscribers spanning from June 17, 2011, to February 7, 2023. The plaintiffs initially sought $7 billion in damages, an amount that could have been tripled to $21 billion under federal law.
A central argument of the lawsuit is that the NFL artificially inflates the price of the Sunday Ticket package. Currently, the package is priced at $349 per year on YouTube TV. During the trial, it was revealed that the NFL had rejected an ESPN proposal to offer the package for $70, which would have included single-team packages. Additionally, it was disclosed that the league had considered a 2017 proposal to discontinue the Sunday Ticket altogether and distribute games across various cable channels. NFL officials, including Commissioner Roger Goodell, have defended the Sunday Ticket as a “premium product” not meant for every household.
This verdict stands as the largest the NFL has ever faced in court.