NFL’s Loss in ‘Sunday Ticket’ Trial Restored

A federal appeals court has revived a verdict that the National Football League overcharged Sunday Ticket subscribers and ordered a new trial on damages.

The decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a federal judge who had tossed a $4.7 billion award for consumers. “We remand this case for the district court to reinstate the jury’s liability verdict,” stated the order.

The long running legal battle centers on allegations that the league and its 32 teams conspired in violation of antitrust laws to allow the NFL to reach exclusive deals with broadcast partners for the right to air out-of-market games.

After a jury sided with consumers in a 2024 trial, the federal judge overseeing the case granted the NFL’s bid to throw out the verdict. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez found that some of the testimony from experts who testified should’ve been excluded.

In Friday’s decision, the federal appeals court concluded that the court overstepped its role as a gatekeeper of expert testimony.

“Opinions are neither unfounded nor unreliable merely because they are impeachable,” the ruling stated. “Such opinions are for the jury to weigh at trial. Once a jury does so, its verdict must stand unless it is clearly not supported by the evidence.”

More to come.