What the appeals court decided
A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial to determine how much the NFL must pay in damages to customers who said they were overcharged for Sunday Ticket, the out-of-market games package. According to Variety, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that a district court judge erred in tossing the verdict against the league that followed a 2024 trial.
The panel said the judge was right to throw out the $4.7 billion award. It also said the consumers who sued are entitled to a new trial to set financial penalties. The case now returns to district court.
In its ruling, the appeals court wrote that “the jury clearly awarded damages based on its improper consideration of the evidence rather than according to the district court’s instructions.” It added: “This warrants a new trial on damages.”
How the case reached this point
In June 2024, a federal jury in Los Angeles found that the NFL had conspired with DirecTV and network partners to raise the price of the exclusive Sunday Ticket package. The jury ordered the league to pay $4.7 billion in damages, and the verdict was reported as a finding that the league violated antitrust law.
Judge Philip Gutierrez of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California later threw out the award. He wrote that the “verdict is clearly not supported by the evidence and must be vacated,” saying the $4.7 billion figure rested on “guesswork or speculation.”
Gutierrez had ruled inadmissible the testimony of expert witness Daniel Rascher, who speculated about what individual NFL teams might earn if they sold out-of-market game rights separately, as college sports conferences and teams do. The appeals court found the jury should have been allowed to consider that testimony.
The NFL's response
An NFL spokesperson said the league was “disappointed by today’s decision.” The spokesperson described the case as one that has been “ongoing now for over 11 years.”
The league defended its approach to distributing games. It said its strategy, which includes 100% of games on free over-the-air television in the participating teams' markets and national distribution of its most popular games, is “by far the most fan-friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.”
The spokesperson also said the league appreciated the panel's attention to the case and “will be considering our options for seeking further appellate review of today’s decision.”
Who is covered and what Sunday Ticket looks like now
The class-action suit was filed in 2015. It represents more than 2.4 million residential subscribers and more than 48,000 restaurants, bars and other commercial establishments that bought Sunday Ticket when DirecTV distributed it. DirecTV had been the package's distribution partner since 1994, until the 2023-24 season, when Google secured a seven-year deal with the NFL to sell it through YouTube.
Sunday Ticket currently includes all out-of-market Sunday regular-season games broadcast on Fox and CBS. Variety reported that the trial revealed Disney's ESPN had offered to acquire the rights starting in the 2023-24 season and price the package at $70 per season to watch all out-of-market Sunday games for single teams. The league would not agree to the plan, according to the report.
For the 2026 season, Variety reported that new subscribers with a YouTube TV plan pay $240, while returning customers pay $378. Without YouTube TV, the package costs $240 for new customers and $480 for returning subscribers.
What happens next
The district court will now hold a new trial focused on damages. The NFL has not said whether it will seek further review, only that it is considering its options. The ruling does not set a new damages figure.
