The legal battle over the NFL's Sunday Ticket package is far from over. After a jury slapped the league with a staggering $4.7 billion verdict—tripled to over $14 billion under federal antitrust law—a judge tossed the decision last year, accusing the plaintiffs of misleading the court with their calculations. Now, an appeal could not only revive the case but also send it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
For years, Sunday Ticket has been a lifeline for fans who want to watch every game, regardless of where they live. Previously on DirecTV and now on YouTube TV, the package lets out-of-market fans follow their favorite teams without blackouts. But a class action lawsuit claims the NFL violated antitrust laws by pooling teams' broadcast rights and selling them exclusively through Sunday Ticket at inflated prices.
The original trial in 2024 ended with a massive jury award, but the judge's decision to overturn it threw the case into limbo. Legal analyst Eriq Gardner, speaking on The Varsity podcast with John Ourand, predicted the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will likely reverse that ruling. “I listened to the hearing. To me, it sounds like the ninth circuit is ready to reverse the judge and revive the case,” Gardner said. “Whether or not that means that the case goes back to the trial court for a new trial or whether the multi-billion dollar penalty gets reinstated, or some sort of other penalty, who knows?”
Gardner added that the case could ultimately reach the highest court in the land. “Ultimately, this might end up at the Supreme Court, where the Supreme Court decides whether or not there's an antitrust violation with the sheer act of these teams pooling their rights together to sell,” he explained.
The potential Supreme Court showdown echoes another high-profile NFL legal battle: Brian Flores' discrimination lawsuit, which also has a path to the Supreme Court after a key ruling. Both cases could reshape how the league operates.
If the Ninth Circuit reinstates the verdict, the NFL could face a financial hit that dwarfs even the league's massive TV contracts. But if the case goes to the Supreme Court, the justices might decide the broader question of whether the NFL's collective rights deals are inherently anticompetitive—a ruling that could change the sports media landscape forever.
The league has defended its shrinking Sunday schedule as a matter of quality over quantity, but this lawsuit strikes at the heart of how it markets games. With the appeal pending, fans and legal observers are watching closely. A trip to the Supreme Court would be unprecedented for a case about a TV package, but as Gardner noted, that's exactly where this might be heading.
