The NFL strenuously objects to the loss it took in court today. As expected.
Following the entry of a $4.096 billion verdict in a nationwide antitrust class action challenging the pricing model of the Sunday Ticket package (which by law will be trebled, if it stands), the league has issued a statement vowing to continue the fight.
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement issued to PFT and other outlets. “We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment. We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit. We thank the jury for their time and service and for the guidance and oversight from Judge Gutierrez throughout the trial.”
Of course the NFL believes the claims are baseless and without merit. They’ve believed it all along. They won’t let something like, you know, a jury verdict change their tune — not with multiple avenues for appeal available.
The amount is too big for the NFL not to contest it, as aggressively as they can. The NFL will take it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where one of the nine justices has a Super Bowl ring that was given to him by Jerry Jones in the ‘90s. (It remains to be seen whether one of the other Supreme Court justices will be flying an NFL flag upside down in the aftermath of today’s verdict.)
The plaintiffs will also push it that far, too, if the NFL wins at some later step in the appellate process. With a fish that big on the line, the lawyers representing the class have every reason to keep trying to get it into the boat.
