Giants Potentially Looking at Hefty Bill in ‘NFL Sunday Ticket’ Trial Outcome

The New York Giants could face a potential $449.6 million hit if the verdict from the recent “Sunday Ticket” lawsuit against the NFL holds up during the appeal process.

The class action lawsuit applied to more than 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses that purchased “NFL Sunday Ticket” from June 17, 2011, to Feb. 7, 2023. The trial lasted three weeks and featured over ten days of testimony, ending last Thursday.

The jury of five men and three women determined that the league had violated antitrust laws by selling “Sunday Ticket” only on DirecTV and at an inflated price, and that the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.

Per multiple reports, the jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Damages awarded under federal antitrust laws can be tripled which means that if the verdict is upheld, the NFL could be liable for $14.39 billion, a total that would be divided among the 32 member clubs to be paid out. 

“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the NFL said in a statement released after the verdict was announced. 

“We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan-friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment,” the NFL said in a statement.

“We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit. We thank the jury for their time and service and for the guidance and oversight from Judge [Philip] Gutierrez throughout the trial.”

The NFL will appeal the decision to Judge Gutierrez, calling the damages “excessive and unreasonable,” according to Sportico.  Post-trial motions are set to occur on July 31.