### US Judge Dismisses $4.7 Billion Verdict Against NFL in 'Sunday Ticket' Lawsuit

### US Judge Dismisses $4.7 Billion Verdict Against NFL in 'Sunday Ticket' Lawsuit **By Mike Scarcella | August 2, 2024, 2:30 PM GMT+6 | Updated 3 min ago**

A U.S. judge in California has thrown out a $4.7 billion verdict against the National Football League (NFL) in a lawsuit alleging it overcharged subscribers for its 'Sunday Ticket' game telecasts for over a decade. The decision by U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez followed arguments from the NFL that the verdict was unjustified and the result of a "runaway" jury. The NFL expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating, "We believe that the NFL's media distribution model provides our fans with an array of options to follow the game they love." Lawyers for the subscribers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 'Sunday Ticket' is the only broadcast option for NFL fans wanting to watch out-of-market games. Subscribers claimed 'Sunday Ticket' prices were inflated to limit subscriptions and protect distribution rights fees paid by broadcast networks for local market games.

Judge Gutierrez's 16-page order dismissed testimony from two key witnesses for the subscribers, stating the jury's damages verdict was unsupported by evidence and that there were too many defects in the case for it to proceed. "Plaintiffs failed to provide evidence from which a reasonable jury could make a finding of injury and an award of actual damages," Gutierrez wrote. The ruling, granting judgment as a matter of law to the NFL, can be appealed to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A Los Angeles federal jury had ruled on June 27 that the NFL restricted the availability of 'Sunday Ticket,' allowing DirecTV to charge artificially higher prices as its former sole distributor. The jury awarded $4.6 billion based on 24.1 million residential subscriptions over the 12-year class period and $96.9 million based on about 506,780 commercial subscriptions for bars and restaurants. The NFL had called the damages amount "nonsensical," while the subscribers argued that the NFL's position was based on "pure conjecture" regarding the jury's reasoning. Under U.S. antitrust law, damages awards can be tripled, potentially increasing the value of the verdict to $14 billion.

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