NFL's Sunday Ticket's $14,000,000,000 lawsuit verdict could cost league its credit rating: Report
In a blow to the NFL, a Los Angeles District Court ruled against them in a case they had been fighting since 2015. This verdict could potentially harm their future borrowing plans and triple the amount of penalties they have to pay.
The NFL’s practice of selling out-of-market games as a package was called into question by 2.8 million individual subscribers and 48,000 businesses. The court ruled in their favor and awarded a sum of $4.8 billion. However, in anti-trust violation cases, the damages are tripled; hence, the NFL is looking at a penalty of more than $14 billion if this verdict stands in the appeals proceedings.
Each franchise will face a burden of around $441 million if the verdict of the Los Angeles Court stands. As per Sports Business Journal, the current credit rating of the NFL could take a hit from its present A to A+ range. Fitch Ratings state:
“The size of the jury’s award is consequential, even when factoring the massive revenue strength of the NFL.”
Fitch Rating has further stated they will “closely monitor” developments of this case. Analysts have predicted that this case has the potential to rattle the NFL’s cage and could prompt a permanent change in its pricing models going forward.
NFL isn’t concerned about the ruling, says analyst
While this case has been argued back and forth between the parties for nine years, it could go on for a few more years. NFL analyst Daniel Kaplan explained the lack of concern on the part of the league on the ‘Ross Tucker Podcast.’
"The Judge Kavanaugh opinion in the 2020 decision not to hear the case at that time gives the NFL a lot of confidence," Kaplan said. "They think they have very strong grounds on appeal and I don't detect a lot of concern at the NFL Headquarters right now.”
In 2020, even though the Supreme Court refused to entertain the case, Judge Kavanaugh’s opinions of the case had positives for the NFL. The Los Angeles Court will next hear the Sunday Ticket lawsuit on July 31 and the NFL is believed to kick-start its appeals process from then on.