When it comes to the $4.696 billion verdict (which by law becomes $14.088 billion) in the Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit, the NFL is on its own.
No money comes from revenue split between the league and the NFL Players Association. All of this comes from the money stored in the coffers of the 32 franchises.
This is great news for gamers, who benefited from antitrust violations that kept the price of Sunday Ticket at a level that protected the investment made by CBS and Fox, discouraging people from buying Sunday Ticket and encouraging them to watch to games on local TV. seasons.
The bad news, potentially, is that any changes forced by the outcome of the case could, in theory, have an impact on future revenues. Given that the league and union share money from television deals, a reduction in television revenue will hurt players.
It is premature at this point to know whether changes will need to be made. The NFL will appeal Thursday’s result to the U.S. Supreme Court. If/when the NFL wins, the money won’t be paid out — and the model likely won’t have to change.
Even without a victory in court, the information that came to light during the trial could provoke enough negative reactions from fans and media to force the league to finally get rid of the overpriced off-market package and make it cheaper and more flexible ( as ESPN wanted to do) or split it among multiple channels available in current cable/satellite/streaming packages (as the league considered doing in 2017).
If changes like this are made, will the NFL generate more or less money than it currently makes? Given that professional football remains the only property that can attract huge simultaneous audiences, those in power will likely find a way to leverage their enviable situation on the one word that got them into this mess in the first place.
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