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A jury in U.S. District Court ruled Thursday the NFL violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service and has awarded nearly $4.7 billion in damages.
The jury ordered the league to pay $4 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class.
The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
The jury of five men and three women deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching its decision.
“This case transcends football. This case matters”, plaintiffs attorney Bill Carmody said during Wednesday’s closing arguments.
