On the official start of the 2024 season with tonight’s Hall of Fame Game, it’s a good day to be the NFL. For Roger Goodell, it’s become a great one after a judge overturned a June verdict that ruled against the league in the NFL Sunday Ticket lawsuit.
As shared by Front Office Sports reporter A.J. Perez, the $4.7 billion verdict in damages against the NFL has been overruled.
In a lawsuit that took roughly a decade to go to trial, the league was accused of unfair practices regarding its Sunday Ticket package. A high price that forced consumers (and establishments like bars, including the one named in the suit against the NFL) to buy games for the entire league instead of on a per-team basis.
Sports lawyer Michael McCann reacted to the ruling by saying “wow” and offering more analysis later.
A several week trial included testimony from Goodell, Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones, New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft, and a slew of emails that pulled back the curtain on the league. It included revealing the NFL rejecting an ESPN proposal to allow fans to buy packages just for their favorite team for under $80.
UPDATE (8:24 PM):Â The NFL has responded to the judge’s ruling.
NFL Sunday Ticket was provided through DirectTV for most of its life cycle, debuting in 1994 and largely created by Jon Taffer, host of the popular TV show “Bar Rescue.” Google/YouTube bought it for the 2023 season and its first year went well, with the broadband package reaching a larger fanbase than ones who either had or were willing to buy a satellite.
The initial verdict ruled against the NFL with damages totaling $4.7 billion. Because of the anti-trust nature of the case, had that number stuck, it would’ve tripled. Meaning, the league would’ve taken an enormous financial hit and would’ve required teams to give the league $440 million, roughly one year’s worth of revenue per organization.
Judge Gutierrez’s ruling in favor of the NFL was speculated throughout the last 24 hours. Hearing the appeal, the judge said the jury used the wrong formula to calculate the league’s damages. That gave enough grounds to overturn the ruling altogether. The judge was the same who presided over the trial and heard a post-trial motion from the league before it even moved on to a different court for appeal.
According to business reporter Daniel Kaplan, the judge’s ruling centered around this issue.
For now, at least, the league is back on top. Of course, these rulings will likely continue to be appealed just as the NFL did in the immediate aftermath of losing the lawsuit. But winning on appeal is massive for the league and this case could be hard to once again overturn.
