LOS ANGELES — A jury in U.S. District Court docket ordered the NFL to pay greater than $4.7 billion in damages Thursday after ruling that the league violated antitrust legal guidelines in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon video games on a premium subscription service.
The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the industrial class. Since damages might be tripled below federal antitrust legal guidelines, the NFL might find yourself being chargeable for $14.39 billion.
The lawsuit coated 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 companies in the US who paid for the bundle of out-of-market video games from the 2011 via 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust legal guidelines by promoting its bundle of Sunday video games at an inflated worth. The subscribers additionally say the league restricted competitors by providing “Sunday Ticket” solely on a satellite tv for pc supplier.
The NFL mentioned in a press release that it’s going to attraction the decision.
“We’re upset with the jury’s verdict at present within the NFL Sunday Ticket class motion lawsuit. We proceed to imagine that our media distribution technique, which options all NFL video games broadcast on free over-the-air tv within the markets of the collaborating groups and nationwide distribution of our hottest video games, supplemented by many further selections together with RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far essentially the most fan pleasant distribution mannequin in all of sports activities and leisure,” the league mentioned.
“We will definitely contest this resolution as we imagine that the category motion claims on this case are baseless and with out benefit. We thank the jury for his or her time and repair and for the steering and oversight from Decide [Philip] Gutierrez all through the trial.”
Submit-trial motions shall be heard July 31, together with one to put aside the decision. If the decision is not put aside, the NFL will attraction to the Ninth Circuit Court docket.
Ought to the NFL find yourself paying damages, it might value every of the 32 groups roughly $449.6 million.
The trial lasted three weeks and featured testimony from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones.
“Justice was finished. The decision upholds safety for the shoppers in our class. It was an amazing day for shoppers,” plaintiffs lawyer Invoice Carmody mentioned.
Throughout his closing remarks, Carmody confirmed an April 2017 NFL memo that confirmed the league was exploring a world with out “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, the place cable channels would air Sunday afternoon out-of-market video games not proven on Fox or CBS.
The jury of 5 males and three ladies deliberated for practically 5 hours earlier than reaching its resolution.
Cost of damages, any modifications to the “Sunday Ticket” bundle and/or the methods the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon video games could be stayed till all appeals have been concluded.
The league maintained it had the correct to promote “Sunday Ticket” below its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs mentioned that solely covers over-the-air broadcasts and never pay TV.
Different skilled sports activities leagues have been additionally keeping track of this case since in addition they provide out-of-market packages. A serious distinction although is that MLB, the NBA and the NHL market their packages on a number of distributors and share within the income per subscriber as an alternative of receiving an outright rights price.
DirecTV had “Sunday Ticket” from its inception in 1994 via 2022. The league signed a seven-year cope with Google’s YouTube TV that started with the 2023 season.
The lawsuit was initially filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports activities bar in San Francisco however was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the ninth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California and eight different states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez dominated final 12 months the case might proceed as a category motion.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert and The Related Press contributed to this report.
