Announcement: Washington Commanders Set To Lose $450 Million Due to…
The NFL is the most popular sport in the United States, and they happen to command the television sporting market every Sunday, and for primetime slots on Monday and Thursday. Additionally, it’s the biggest sports league in the nation. With this, it also happens to be a multi-billion dollar league.
The 32 franchises within the league each operate as their own business within the association, making them liable for bringing in profits to the NFL — including the Washington Commanders.
The NFL just lost an antitrust lawsuit against DirecTV users who purchased NFL Sunday Ticket between 2011 and 2022. The problem stems from overpricing due to a lack of competition, as Sunday Ticket is the primary means for fans to see the league’s games on television.
The jury awarded customers $4.7 billion in damages, while corporations received roughly $100 million in damages. However, antitrust rules have the potential to quadruple that amount. This might become expensive for NFL owners.
ESPN analyzed the jury’s ruling regarding the lawsuit.
“The jury awarded the residential class $4.7 billion in damages, while the business class received $96 million. Because federal antitrust statutes allow damages to be quadrupled, the NFL could face a $14.39 billion fine. “The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games on DirecTV from the 2011 to 2022 seasons,” ESPN stated.
The suit could cost each of the 32 NFL owners $450 million in damages, which would be a steep price for Commanders owner Josh Harris, who recently acquired the team. Also owner of the Philadelphia 76ers — an NBA franchise — Harris is worth just south of $9 billion, so, while $450 million is plenty of money for anyone to pay, Harris should be able to take care of it.
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