The legal showdown between "Sunday Ticket" subscribers and the NFL is approaching a crucial juncture as jury deliberations are set to begin on Wednesday. Both sides presented their final arguments on Monday, leaving U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez to instruct the jury on Wednesday morning before closing statements commence.
The class-action lawsuit, which could reshape how the NFL markets its out-of-market games, involves 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses who purchased the "Sunday Ticket" package from 2011 to 2022. Plaintiffs allege that the NFL violated antitrust laws by monopolizing the broadcast rights of Sunday games, driving up prices and limiting competition by exclusively offering the package through DirecTV.
Central to the plaintiffs' case is the argument that the NFL's arrangements with DirecTV—and later, Google YouTube TV—stifled competition and inflated costs for fans. Harvard professor Einer Elhauge testified that the NFL's practices did not contribute to competitive balance in the league. He emphasized that the substantial annual revenue of $62.5 million per team from "Sunday Ticket" was not crucial to maintaining the league's salary cap or operating budgets.
Contrastingly, Stanford economist B. Douglas Bernheim, testifying for the NFL, defended the league's actions, asserting that the bundled sale of out-of-market games to a single provider ensured fair competition on the field and benefitted fans. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones also weighed in, noting that independent sales of broadcasting rights by teams could potentially disrupt the salary cap system.
Judge Gutierrez will confer with attorneys on Tuesday to finalize jury instructions and address the NFL's motion for judgment as a matter of law, which argues the plaintiffs have insufficient evidence. If this motion is denied, the case will proceed to the jury on Wednesday.
The stakes are high: if the jury rules against the NFL, damages could reach $21 billion due to antitrust penalties, significantly impacting the league and its broadcast agreements. A ruling for the NFL would affirm the league’s claim of an antitrust exemption for pay TV broadcasts.
This case has been ongoing since 2015, originating from a complaint by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco. After a dismissal in 2017 and reinstatement by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019, the lawsuit gained class-action status last year.
Regardless of the verdict, the losing party is expected to appeal, potentially escalating the battle to the Supreme Court. The outcome will not only affect millions of subscribers but could also set a precedent for how professional sports leagues manage and distribute their broadcast rights.
Comments