NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Class Action

The NFL Sunday Ticket antitrust litigation, consolidated as a multidistrict class action in the Central District of California, challenged the NFL's exclusive arrangement with DirecTV (later Google/YouTube TV) to distribute out-of-market game packages. Plaintiffs — residential subscribers and commercial establishments such as bars and restaurants — argued that the NFL's agreements with its 32 member clubs to pool broadcasting rights and sell them exclusively to a single distributor constituted an illegal horizontal conspiracy under the Sherman Antitrust Act. This arrangement, plaintiffs claimed, eliminated price competition, forced fans who wanted to watch out-of-market games to pay inflated subscription prices with no alternative, and restricted output in violation of federal antitrust law. The case survived multiple summary judgment attempts by the NFL before proceeding to trial.

In June 2024, after a lengthy trial, a federal jury agreed with plaintiffs and awarded approximately $1.5 billion in actual damages — which under antitrust law was automatically trebled to a staggering $4.7 billion, making it one of the largest antitrust jury verdicts in American legal history. However, in August 2024, U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez granted the NFL's motion for judgment as a matter of law, overturning the jury verdict and ruling that plaintiffs failed to establish a proper relevant market. Plaintiffs appealed to the Ninth Circuit, and the case remains active on appeal. A negotiated settlement remains possible as the parties await appellate proceedings.