Jury Sides Against NFL in Sunday Ticket Lawsuit; League Could Owe $4 Billion

A verdict delivered in the U.S. District Court in California ruled Thursday that the NFL is ordered to pay $4.7 billion to fans who paid for the Sunday Ticket streaming package.

The NFL shield logo on the 2024 Pro Bowl Games flag football field at Camping World Stadium. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

A verdict delivered in the U.S. District Court in California ruled Thursday that the NFL is ordered to pay $4.7 billion to fans who paid for the Sunday Ticket streaming package and another $96 million to bars who argued they were overcharged for the streaming package.

Per Pro Football Talk, that total is tripled under federal antitrust law to more than $14 billion. It is the biggest loss the NFL has ever experienced in court.

“It’s a great verdict for the consumers of America,” lead @SusmanGodfrey attorney Bill Carmody told reporters. Carmody said the jury upheld antitrust laws “despite the star power of the defendants.”

— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) June 27, 2024

The league plans to appeal the decision.

"We are disappointed with the jury's verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit," the league said in a statement. "We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air. television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket at NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.

"We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit. We thank the jury for their time and service and for the guidance and oversight from Judge Gutierrez throughout the trial."

The lawsuit, which originated in 2015 via a sports bar in San Francisco called the Mucky Duck, claims that the NFL, its teams and network partners are working together to sell the streaming package at an inflated price with no competition. The trial unveiled that the NFL declined a proposal from ESPN to take over the rights in 2023 priced at $70 with single-team packages.

The NFL Sunday Ticket, exclusively hosted by YouTube TV since last season, is currently available for purchase at $349 per year.