One of the most common questions we’ve gotten in the aftermath of Thursday’s verdict in the Sunday Ticket class action is this: When do I get my check?
It might take a while. It might never happen at all.
The process of carving up the cash won’t begin until the case is over. It’s possible that the NFL will still prevail, either in post-judgment motions or before the appeals court or ultimately in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. But let’s assume that, for now, the $4.696 billion verdict stands, let’s do some rough math as to what it means for the average consumer.
As explained in the website devoted to the litigation, the class automatically covers anyone who purchased Sunday Ticket from June 17, 2011 through February 7, 2023. If you didn’t opt out of the class before October 8, 2023, you are in it.
The class action covers 12 years of Sunday Ticket. Based on the class-action website, you must affirmatively request a share at the appropriate time.
Presumably, the payments will be broken down to each year that each customer bought Sunday Ticket during the window — from one to 12. For each year that a given consumer had Sunday Ticket, there will be another unit of payment up to a maximum of 12.
So what will each unit of payment be? Under the current verdict (and ignoring interest and fees that would enhance it), the payment would be (for the residential class), $4.6 billion — times three. That’s $13.8 billion.
The lawyers will get a large chunk of it. Under their agreement with the named plaintiffs, they might be able to recover up to 40 percent of the total amount as a contingency fee, especially since the case is destined to be appealed to multiple courts. That would be $5.52 billion for the years, with $8.28 billion for the residential class. (The presiding judge ultimately must approve of any legal fees paid to the plaintiffs from the recovery.)
It’s not enough to just divide that post-fee number by the total number of class members. It needs to take into account the total Sunday Ticket purchases per plaintiff, with class members getting anywhere from one to 12 basic payment units.
To be clear, that’s my own interpretation of the fair way to do it. Ultimately, everything will be assessed and approved by the court.
In the end, it shouldn’t be a nominal payment. At $8.28 billion and with 2.4 million residential class members, that’s an average of $3,450 each.
It won’t not be that simple. And it could go away, if the NFL wins on appeal. Even if the number is unchanged, it will take more time for the case to get to the point where the gigantic pot of money gets to distributed to anyone and everyone who was victimized by price gouging aimed at getting consumers to not buy Sunday ticket in the first place and watch CBS or Fox games televised by their local affiliates.