Appeals Court Restores NFL Antitrust Verdict Against Sunday Ticket

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived a verdict holding the National Football League liable for antitrust violations on Friday. The panel sent the case back to a federal district court in Los Angeles to reinstate the jury's original liability finding. The court also ordered a new trial to determine the final amount of damages.

The lawsuit involved 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States. These groups paid for the Sunday Ticket package on DirecTV to watch out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons. The plaintiffs claimed the league sold the package at inflated prices and restricted competition by limiting availability to a single satellite provider.

A jury found the NFL liable in June 2024. The group of five men and three women awarded $4,610,331,671.74 in damages to the residential class and $96,928,272.90 to the commercial class. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez reversed that decision one month later. He ruled that testimony from two expert witnesses for the subscribers should have been excluded because they used flawed methodologies.

The appellate panel disagreed with that exclusion. Judge Anthony D. Johnstone wrote that opinions are not unreliable merely because they can be impeached. He stated that such opinions are for the jury to weigh. Johnstone added that reasonable jurors may debate whether college and professional football telecasts are sufficiently similar. He noted that questions about how out-of-market games would have become available without the NFL's conduct are for the jury to decide.

The appeals court did find that the jury failed to follow Gutierrez's instructions on determining damages. The panel concluded the original award was based on guesswork or speculation because the jury used its own calculations. The case will return to the district court for a new trial on this specific issue.

The NFL released a statement saying it believes its media distribution strategy is the most fan-friendly model in sports and entertainment. The league noted that 100 percent of games are broadcast on free over-the-air television in participating team markets. It also cited the national distribution of popular games and additional choices like RedZone, Sunday Ticket, and NFL Plus.

Attorneys for both sides said they are considering their options following the ruling. The legal battle began when the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco filed the original suit in 2015. Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell dismissed the case in June 2017, ruling that the package did not reduce game output. The 9th Circuit reinstated the case two years later, and Gutierrez allowed it to proceed as a class action in 2023.

Federal antitrust laws allow damages to be tripled. If the new trial results in a similar liability finding, the NFL could face a total obligation of $14,121,779,833.92. The Sunday Ticket package moved to YouTube in 2023 under a seven-year agreement.