NFL loses ‘Sunday Ticket’ trial, ordered to pay $4 billion by federal jury

The NFL has been ordered to pay $4.7 billion in residential class damages and $96 million in commercial class damages by a federal jury in a class action lawsuit filed against the league by subscribers to “NFL Sunday Ticket.” The verdict was first reported by journalist Meghann Cuniff.

The lawsuit argued that the NFL, its teams and its network partners (DirecTV, CBS, ESPN and Fox) violated antitrust rules by working together to limit competition and sell the out-of-market TV package at an inflated price.

Jury in the Sunday Ticket antitrust trial orders NFL to pay $96 million in damages to commercial class and $4 BILLION in damages to the residential class.

— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) June 27, 2024

Plaintiffs included more than 2.4 million residential subscribers and more than 48,000 restaurants, bars and other commercial establishments that purchased a subscription to “Sunday Ticket.” The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 on behalf of San Francisco’s Mucky Duck sports bar, alleging that DirecTV, CBS, ESPN and Fox violated antitrust law by suppressing competition in exclusive agreements with the NFL that restricted fans’ ability to view out-of-market games.

DirecTV had the “NFL Sunday Ticket” package exclusively from 1994 to 2022.

The plantiffs sought $7 billion in damages in the lawsuit. However, in a federal antitrust case, damages can triple and could have pushed the award up to $21 billion. With the $4 billion award, antitrust law will increase those damages to $12 billion, according to Spotrac.

The #NFL has been ordered to pay 96 million in commercial class damages & 4 BILLION in residential class damages per today’s guilty verdict in the Sunday Ticket antitrust trial.

By federal antitrust law, that 4 billion becomes 12 billion in actuality. The plantiffs were seeking…

— Spotrac (@spotrac) June 27, 2024

The NFL intends to appeal the decision to U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez, arguing that the damages are “excessive and unreasonable,” via…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-loses-sunday-ticket-trial-ordered-to-pay-4-billion-by-federal-jury-225928049.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-06-27 22:59:28

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