Highlights The NFL Sunday Ticket trial concluded with a jury ruling in favor of plaintiffs against the NFL.
The NFL has been ordered by the jury to pay $96M in commercial damages and $4B to residential ‘Sunday Ticket’ subscribers.
Post-trial motions have been set for July 31, with Judge Gutierrez to deliver a written ruling; the NFL plans to appeal any ruling against them.
The NFL Sunday Ticket trial came to a preliminary conclusion last night, as a jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs against the NFL.
The jury presiding over the case ruled that the league will pay $96 million in commercial damages and $4 billion to residential ‘Sunday Ticket’ subscribers, according to Joe Reedy of the Associated Press.
NFL reporter Warren Sharp also reported on the proceedings, saying that 2.4 million U.S. residential subscribers were included in the class action suit.
As for what comes next: Judge Philip Gutierrez has set the Post-Trial motions date for July 31, after which he’ll deliver a written ruling on the case, according to NBC. Then, the losing party will have the ability to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The NFL has already released a statement on the jury’s ruling, claiming that they will appeal both it and whatever punishment Judge Gutierrez hands down.
Related Report: NFL Ordered to Pay Over $4 Billion In Sunday Tickey Class Action Suit The class action lawsuit that has reached a verdict, and it’s not music to the ears of Roger Goodell and company.
Ruling By Judge Could Be Less Than What Jury Handed Down
Judge Gutierrez threatened to throw out the case last week
Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
For fans out of the legal loop, it is standard practice for the losing party to use the Post-trial motion period to request relief or a lesser punishment from the judge.
Something that may work in the NFL’s favor is that Judge Gutierrez threatened to throw the case out last week, criticizing the plaintiffs’ lawyers for complicating the case and being purposefully ambiguous and convoluted in their arguments. However, he dismissed the NFL’s request for judgment until after the jury had reached a verdict.
It will be fascinating to see if the magnitude of the verdict reached by the jury will have any sway over how Judge Gutierrez rules. Though he almost certainly won’t uphold the $4.8 billion payout, the NFL could still be forced into a multi-billion dollar punishment.
Should the NFL lose its appeal, it’s exceedingly likely that they will have to offer either:
The Premium Sunday Ticket package at a lower overall price
OR multiple alternatives to the traditional Sunday Ticket service, including cheaper packages for individual teams or divisions
Of course, the league has already begun to branch out into different broadcasting spaces beyond the traditional cable channels and package routes, teaming up with a number of streaming services for exclusive games this season.
NFL Games Exclusively on Streaming Platforms in 2024 Date Matchup Platform Fri, Sept. 6 Packers @ Eagles Peacock Fri, Nov. 29 Raiders @ Chiefs Prime Video Wed, Dec. 25 Chiefs @ Steelers Netflix Wed, Dec. 25 Ravens @ Texans Netflix
Of course, that doesn’t even mention how Thursday Night Football will air exclusively on Amazon Prime every Thursday from Week 2-Week 17.
For now, the NFL will begin to prepare its appeal process as they await a final ruling from Judge Gutierrez. The future implications of this trial, though, could have seismic shifts on the sports broadcasting landscape.
Source: NBC