If you were hoping to buy a Pittsburgh Steelers specific package for Sunday Ticket instead of spending money on the league-wide plan, blame the NFL. They turned away the chance to give fans such an option. In true Gordon Gekko “greed is fashion,” the NFL rejected a proposal by ESPN to offer $70 packages specific to one team. Meaning that out-of-market Pittsburgh Steelers fans could only pay for Steelers’ games without having to buy the entire and far more expensive package for many games they had no desire to watch.
Per a Bloomberg article via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the league “didn’t like” that idea.
“ESPN proposed dropping the price to $70 for the full season and to sell single-team packages. An email from Rolapp shown in court showed that the league didn’t like that.”
These emails and information come from the lawsuit against the NFL that accuses the league with its Sunday Ticket package. Tied up in the courts for nearly a decade, the case finally went to trial earlier this month.
After partnering with DirectTV for decades, Sunday Ticket moved to Google/YouTube beginning last year. In many ways, it became more accessible to fans, but those in rural areas who lacked strong internet connections were left hung out to try.
A team-based package would’ve been ideal for fans and their wallets. Many wondered and hoped the league would offer it as they made their move to Google. But that never happened, and it seems intentional by the league, forcing fans to fork over the full amount for the experience. Last year, Sunday Ticket cost upwards of $449.
And that’s not even an inference. Also per Florio, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the league wants to keep it inaccessible to fans needing a cheaper option.
“We’re not looking to get lots of people,” Kraft reportedly said during the trial, per Florio. “We want to keep it as a premium offering.”
The league has made record profits in recent years and continued to find new avenues to pad its bottom line. That’s included partnerships with Amazon, NBC/Peacock, and most recently, Netflix, to host exclusive games. Amazon has Thursday nights, Peacock has a Wild Card game, and Netflix will host Christmas this year, including the Steelers’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs (it’ll still be shown on TV in local markets).
Should the NFL lose the trial, they could be forced to pay out upwards of $21 billion.
