How many DirecTV subscribers are eligible for refund in NFL Sunday Ticket lawsuit? Payout criteria explained
The jury just instructed the NFL to pay $4.7 billion to fans and $96 million to bars after losing the Sunday Ticket lawsuit that alleged they had violated anti-trust provisions. But who are they paying the money to is something we need to understand.
This class action lawsuit was brought by the San Francisco bar, The Mucky Duck, alleging that the NFL was violating federal provisions by asking them to purchase a Sunday Ticket bundle instead of offering choices like single-team packages. That ballooned to other establishments and casual fans joining in as well.
In total, as reported by Warren Sharp, there are around 2.4 million residential subscribers in the lawsuit and they will be paid out from the $4.7 billion. Of course, it must be noted here, that the NFL has said it will appeal this verdict.
Figuring out if you benefit from the $4.7 billion settlement against NFL in Sunday Ticket lawsuit
Naturally, NFL fans are asking if they qualify among those numbers. Thankfully, there are clear guidelines that can provide us with the answer.
There are two classes here. One is the residential class and the other is the commercial class. For both these classes, any DIRECTV subscribers who purchased the NFL Sunday Ticket between June 17, 2011, and February 7, 2023, are eligible for compensation. Among them, there are damages classes and injunctive classes for both residential and commercial subscribers.
But there is another catch to qualify. There was a deadline set for October 8, 2023, by which time those who wanted to exclude themselves from the damages class could have. This was before the outcome of the lawsuit was known. So, anyone who withdrew under those provisions will not qualify for any damages payout. Those who stayed in the lawsuit and did nothing are the ones that will be paid out.
Before anybody gets their hopes up, this payment might never materialize. The NFL has already vowed to appeal and the verdict could be overturned. Even if not, this could be a lengthy process that could end up all the way to the Supreme Court.
What could be more lasting is the reputational hit the NFL has taken. When a jury of American citizens decides the way it did and there are 2.4 million people in the lawsuit, it shows that the average person has lost significant faith in the league, if they had any in the first place. That might be more difficult for the NFL to recover than the money.