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Last week’s verdict in the Sunday Ticket case will have plenty of potential ramifications for the NFL. In addition to the potential loss of more than $14 billion and possible changes to the TV revenue streams if/when the Sunday Ticket provider is free to charge whatever price it chooses, the NFL could see a negative impact to its credit rating.
Currently in the range of A to A+, an ultimate loss by the league in court, with the $14 billion verdict being upheld, could affect how lenders view the league.
Via Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, Fitch Ratings will “closely monitor” the case going forward.
“The size of the jury’s award is consequential, even when factoring the massive revenue strength of the NFL,” Fitch wrote.
If the verdict stands, teams will be responsible for more than $440 million each. As Fischer notes, that’s more than twice the annual operating income for every NFL team, except the Cowboys.
That fact only confirms our recent point that some teams might have a hard time coming up with the $440 million. It could lead to more borrowing or perhaps the sale of a minority interest in the team.
The good news for the NFL is that the appeal process will buy time to figure out how to pay the money. And the NFL quite possibly will win.
If it doesn’t, teams will be digging deep to pay up, and the league at large could face challenges when it comes to balancing maximum Sunday Ticket revenue against maximum Sunday afternoon broadcast revenue — if/when the league is forced to sell the Sunday Ticket rights to a provider that will price the package however it sees fit, without being strong-armed by the league office.
Source link : https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sunday-ticket-verdict-could-impact-121907546.html
Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-07-04 12:19:07
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