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Why Did a US Judge Throw Out $4.7 Billion Verdict Against NFL in ‘Sunday Ticket’ Lawsuit
A US Judge has thrown out a $4.7 billion verdict against the National Football League (NFL) in ‘Sunday Ticket’ Lawsuit; here is why. Read on.
A US judge in California has thrown out a $4.7 billion verdict against the National Football League (NFL) in a lawsuit. It was claimed that the league overcharged subscribers for the Sunday Ticket game broadcasts, and it has been happening for more than a decade.
On July 29, a jury gave away $4.7 billion in damages to residential and commercial subscribers after it was ruled that the league violated antitrust laws while it distributed out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
In the lawsuit, around 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States of America were covered. They were the ones who paid for the DirecTV out-of-market games package. It included the period from 2011 to the 2022 season.
A report on the official site the NFL stated that the jury, which involved five men and three women, found that the league was liable for $4,610,331,671.74 in damages to the residential class (home subscribers) and $96,928,272.90 in damages to the commercial class (business subscribers).
Additionally, the league could have been liable for around $14,121,779,833.92 due to the fact that the damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws.
Meanwhile, the league, in a statement, stated that “the NFL's media distribution model provides our fans with an array of options to follow the game they love.”
Further, the court stated that it “does not find that it would be unreasonable for a juror to find that there was a conspiracy that unreasonably restrained trade,” wrote the judge.
U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled Thursday that the testimony of two was the result of inadequate methodologies. Additionally, it should have been excluded.
The judge, at the end of his 16-page ruling, wrote, “Without the testimonies of Dr. (Daniel) Rascher and Dr. (John) Zona, no reasonable jury could have found class-wide injury or damages.”
Following the result, the league went on to thank Judge Gutierrez and released a statement that read that the NFL was “grateful” for the decision. “We thank Judge Gutierrez for his time and attention to this case,” the league stated as they look ahead to the upcoming action-packed season.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that the American football league has claimed victory in the matter, which has been in action since 2015. Back in 2017, U.S. District Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell dismissed the lawsuit and ruled for the league.
Sunday Ticket is an out-of-market sports package that telecasts the regular season of the league, which is not available on the local affiliates. The package provided all the Sunday afternoon games produced by Fox and CBS.
Meanwhile, the franchises have already started their training sessions with the players to prepare for the upcoming action-packed NFL season. The pre-season games are around the corner, followed by the regular season, which kicks off in September.
The pre-season will begin with the Pro Football Hall of Fame games, which will be played between the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears before the main event starts on September 5.
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