Tampa Bay Buccaneers May Lose $450 Million Due to NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Lawsuit

The Bucs, and every other team in the NFL, could have to fork up some money.

Jul 14, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner/co-chairman Bryan Glazer speaks during a press conference to announce that former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin (not pictured) will be entered into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Ring of Honor at AdventHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL is one of the world's most successful business ventures. Yes, it is more than a sport where a game is played on a field for viewers' entertainment — in fact, the NFL is a multi-billion dollar company that continues to grow in all facets of its empire.

Each team within the NFL is also a business and therefore relied upon by the league for financial gain, but these franchises also bear the responsibility of any legal matters that the NFL falls into, and it appears that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the other 31 NFL franchises might be on the hook to pay some lofty penalties after the league lost a recent lawsuit.

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The lawsuit the NFL lost stems from customers who bought Sunday Ticket services from DirecTV between 2011 and 2022 from a lack of competition and overpricing. The loss awarded residential customers $4.7 billion in damages and another $95+ million to businesses. This amount may not be fixed, however, as the damages can be tripled under antitrust laws. Details of the jury's decision against the National Football League can be viewed on ESPN.com.

"The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion. The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV."

If those damages do in fact triple, then the league and its franchises will be liable for $14.39 billion in fees — resulting in each franchise having to shell out a total of $450 million. $450 million is no joke, but in the grand scheme of things, NFL owners have deep pockets and shouldn't have any trouble coughing up some extra pocket change for the NFL to move past this decades-long mistake.

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