NFL’s $4.7 Billion ‘Sunday Ticket’ Antitrust Verdict Revived by Appeals Court

The National Football League is once again facing potential billions of dollars in damages after a federal appeals court reinstated a jury's antitrust verdict on Friday, overturning a previous ruling. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that a federal judge had incorrectly dismissed the jury's finding that the NFL had violated antitrust laws with its "Sunday Ticket" subscription package.

However, the court maintained the decision to dismiss the original $4.7 billion damages award, which sets the stage for a new trial to determine the league's financial obligation. The ruling leaves the NFL potentially indebted while confirming the jury's conclusion that the television distribution arrangement harmed consumers. The extent of the damages remains uncertain, prolonging a legal dispute that has questioned how the league packages and sells its games.

The lawsuit, initiated in 2015, pertains to around 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 bars, restaurants, and other businesses who purchased "Sunday Ticket" via DirecTV. Plaintiffs contended that the NFL stifled competition by bundling out-of-market games into an expensive subscription package instead of enabling fans to buy access to individual teams.

In 2024, a Los Angeles jury awarded approximately $4.7 billion in damages, a sum that could have approached $14 billion under federal antitrust law, which permits tripled damages. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez subsequently overturned the verdict, citing the inadmissibility of expert testimony supporting the subscribers' claims.

Friday's appeals court decision found that Gutierrez erred in rejecting the testimony, stating that questions about its credibility should have been determined by the jury. However, the three-judge panel agreed that the jury had misjudged the damages and that a new trial was necessary. The NFL expressed disappointment with the decision, maintaining that its media distribution model is "by far the most fan-friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment."

The league suggested it might pursue additional appellate review. "Sunday Ticket," initially distributed through DirecTV for nearly three decades, migrated to YouTube in 2023 through a seven-year agreement with Google valued at $14 billion. This current agreement is not directly involved in the lawsuit, which addresses the package's earlier years on DirecTV.