A Los Angeles federal jury has ordered the National Football League (NFL) to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages over antitrust violations relating to its “Sunday Ticket” programming.
The verdict was delivered in the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California on June 27 after less than a day of deliberations.
It followed a trial that included testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
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Roughly $4.7 billion in damages was awarded to residential “Sunday Ticket” subscribers and $96 million to commercial subscribers such as restaurants and bars. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.
The ruling stemmed from a class action lawsuit filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco alleging the league “conspired” with distributor DirecTV to raise prices for the “Sunday Ticket” package, which allows viewers to watch out-of-market games but requires them to purchase access to a bundle of games to do so.
The complaint covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses who paid for the “Sunday Ticket” package from DirecTV, or its subsidiaries, at any time between 2011 and 2022.
