Here's what the billion-dollar NFL Sunday Ticket lawsuit means for consumers

By Weston Blasi

The NFL has been found guilty of violating U.S. antitrust laws in its distribution of 'Sunday Ticket,' and could have to pay as much as $14 billion

The National Football League has been ordered to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages following a ruling that the NFL broke antitrust laws when it distributed its "Sunday Ticket" broadcasting package. That payment could balloon to more than $14 billion because damages can be tripled under federal antitrust law.

With such a high damages amount, it's unlikely the NFL will be cutting any checks before exploring a potential appeal. The league released a statement Thursday saying it will "certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class-action claims in this case are baseless and without merit."

Here's what consumers need to know about the NFL Sunday Ticket lawsuit.

What laws did the jury say the NFL violated?

The eight-person jury determined that the NFL broke the law by selling its Sunday Ticket package of games at a price that was too high, as well as by restricting competition by offering Sunday Ticket only through a satellite provider.

NFL Sunday Ticket - which broadcasts NFL games that are out of market and unavailable on local television stations - was distributed by DirecTV until 2022, and the lawsuit named 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the U.S. who paid for the package from 2011 through 2022.

In 2022, Google's (GOOGL) (GOOG) YouTubeTV streaming service bought the broadcast rights to Sunday Ticket for $2.5 billion per year.

Can you sign up for the class-action lawsuit?

In class-action lawsuits, one or more individuals sue on behalf of other individuals or entities who have similar claims.

Class members for this lawsuit include the following groups:

Residential Damages Class: DirecTV residential subscribers that purchased NFL Sunday Ticket between June 17, 2011 and Feb. 7, 2023.Commercial Damages Class: DirecTV commercial subscribers that purchased NFL Sunday Ticket between June 17, 2011 and Feb. 7, 2023.

If and when there is money available to be distributed to impacted customers, those people will be notified, according to the lawsuit's website. If the NFL does appeal the judgment, the case could be heard by the Supreme Court.

Currently, there is no way to sign up to be included in this class-action suit. But if an eligible consumer did not opt out of the class before Oct. 8, 2023, they are in it.

See also: Netflix buys NFL Christmas Day games. The streamer may raise prices as a result, expert says.

How would the NFL make the payment?

The damages calculation would be evenly split among the NFL's 32 teams, with each franchise paying up to $449.6 million, according to the AP.

The average value of an NFL franchise is now estimated at $5.1 billion, according to Forbes, and the league makes about $19 billion in yearly revenue.

Will NFL Sunday Ticket be shut down?

Major changes to the league's Sunday Ticket offering would not likely occur until all appeals have been concluded, the AP reported. As well as possibly reducing the price, the NFL could consider offering team-by-team or week-by-week packages, something Sunday Ticket does not currently provide.

The NFL declined to say if its Sunday Ticket package would change for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. As of Friday, NFL Sunday Ticket for the upcoming season is still on sale on YouTubeTV's app and website.

"We continue to believe that our media-distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan-friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment," an NFL spokesperson told MarketWatch.

"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," the spokesperson said.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was called as a witness during the trial and called Sunday Ticket a "premium product" in both pricing and quality.

How much does NFL Sunday Ticket cost?

Sunday Ticket is now exclusively available on YouTubeTV after its 28-year run on DirecTV.

If you already subscribe to YouTubeTV, which now costs $72.99 a month after a 2023 price hike, Sunday Ticket will cost an additional $349 for the season. Subscribers can also also get a premium $389-a-year plan that includes the NFL's popular RedZone channel.

NFL fans who don't have YouTubeTV are still able to purchase Sunday Ticket, but they'll pay extra. Last season, YouTube's Primetime Channels offered nonsubscribers the ability to buy Sunday Ticket for $449 for the season or pay $489 for the package that includes NFL RedZone.

Will this ruling impact other sports leagues?

The answer to this question likely cannot be answered until any potential appeals have concluded.

While all major sports leagues offer some sort of out-of-market TV package like Sunday Ticket - such as NBA League Pass and MLB.TV - the NBA, MLB and NHL sell these packages through multiple distributors and share subscriber revenue instead of receiving a broadcast-rights fee.

See also: Want to watch every NFL game? It will cost over $2,300

Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is set to hear post-trial motions on July 31 that will include the NFL's request to have him rule in favor of the league because the judge determined the plaintiffs did not prove their case.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed in 2015 by the San Francisco bar Mucky Duck, was dismissed in 2017. But two years later, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez ruled last year that the case could proceed as a class action.

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-Weston Blasi

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06-29-24 0700ET

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