The NFL could appeal the Sunday Ticket case all the way to the Supreme Court … or it could do the right thing

Pigs get fat. Hogs get slaughtered.

The NFL — which looks and subsequently acts like the Hogzilla of all Hogzillas — undoubtedly brushes such an old adage aside. After all, it is selling football to Americans (and now even international fans). How could it ever not succeed?

It may not be wrong, but how about expressing a modicum of respect for the desperate, dare we say football-addicted customers that the league continues to wring for every last dollar?

A jury in Los Angeles ruled last week that the NFL violated federal antitrust laws by selling its “Sunday Ticket” package of out-of-market games exclusively on DirectTV at an inflated price in an effort to protect the local broadcast of games on Fox and CBS.

The league could be liable for about $14.39 billion in damages to individual and commercial Sunday Ticket customers. A judicial reduction or a settlement can still be reached.

The NFL doesn’t find itself in too many courtrooms (this case took nine years of wrangling). It loses even less frequently. And in this case, it is confident it can reverse the verdict on appeal, especially at the United States Supreme Court that it believes will be business friendly.

Again, the league may be correct.

But should winning on some appellate technicality really be the goal when a jury clearly believed it was ripping off its own fans by limiting choices?

The NFL is free to appeal the verdict, and it is certainly naive to expect a pack of billionaires to consider doing the “right” thing, but it doesn’t excuse them if they don’t.

Rather than requiring fans to access the package through YouTubeTV (which took over from DirectTV in 2023), it should be available on any cable or streaming package. That’s how it works for the “NBA League Pass” and “NHL Center Ice.”

Right now it costs a $72.99-a-month subscription to YouTubeTV, not to mention switching from a provider customers may have preferred, just to get access to purchase the Sunday Ticket for an additional…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/the-nfl-could-appeal-the-sunday-ticket-case-all-the-way-to-the-supreme-court–or-it-could-do-the-right-thing-174426899.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-03 17:44:26

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