What the appeals court decided
The 9th Circuit said the trial judge went too far by wiping out the jury's 2024 verdict that found the National Football League liable for antitrust violations tied to Sunday Ticket. At the same time, the panel agreed the $4.7 billion damages number jurors awarded in June 2024 had to be set aside, so a new trial will recalculate what, if anything, the league owes.
How the case got here
Fans first sued in 2015, accusing the NFL and its longtime partner DirecTV of unlawfully monopolizing the market for televised football via Sunday Ticket and charging excessive prices. Despite testimony from Commissioner Roger Goodell that DirecTV alone set the subscription fee, jurors concluded in June 2024 that the setup violated the law and returned a $4.7 billion award, below the $7 billion the subscribers had asked for. Two months later, US District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez in Los Angeles threw out the verdict, saying the finding that subscribers should have paid less was "clearly not supported by the evidence." DirecTV, which has denied wrongdoing, did not stand trial after pushing customer claims into private arbitration. After Gutierrez retired, the case shifted to Judge George H. Wu.
Signals for leagues and next steps to watch
The league expressed disappointment with the ruling and maintained that its media distribution model is the most fan friendly in sports, citing free over-the-air broadcasts in home markets for every game, wide national exposure for marquee matchups, and extras such as RedZone, Sunday Ticket, and NFL Plus. Sports law professor Jodi Balsam of Brooklyn Law School said the decision pressures the league to make out-of-market packages more consumer friendly, arguing it is in the NFL's commercial interest to move first rather than risk court-ordered changes. She added the ruling matters across sports because it suggests that combining teams' broadcast rights for national deals and Sunday Ticket-style bundles can face antitrust scrutiny if buyers must purchase a full season.
The case now returns to the district court for a new damages trial, and either side can still seek review by a larger 9th Circuit panel or ask the US Supreme Court to take a look. In the background, as viewer costs rise with more games shifting to streaming, Congress and the Justice Department have opened inquiries into the NFL's broadcast rights. The league has already shifted Sunday Ticket distribution from DirecTV to Alphabet's YouTube.
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What it means for investors
A new jury will decide any payout, and antitrust law would triple whatever number they pick, which sets a path that could reach $21 billion. The open question is less about the past bill and more about the future business model if distribution has to change. For media, tech, and sports-rights names, the case spotlights the risk in bundling exclusive content, as well as the pricing power and churn dynamics when must-have sports move to streaming. The docket to watch: In re National Football Leagues Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation, 2:15-ml-02668, U.S. District Court, Central District of California.
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