Roger Goodell breaks silence on $4,700,000,000 Sunday Ticket verdict as NFL grapples with aftermath
Roger Goodell and the NFL could be in a lot of trouble, $4.7 billion worth of it. Thanks to the Sunday Ticket verdict, the league may well owe a lot of money in a settlement. The sum would be divided up among all teams, but most of them won't be able to pay it very easily. It's a dangerous situation, one the Commissioner is well aware of.
According to NFL reporter AJ Perez, Goodell said:
"We obviously disagree with the the jury verdict. We are committed to following the legal process. It's a long process. We are aware of that. We feel strongly about our position, our policies particularly on media and bringing our sport to the largest possible audience. Sunday Ticket is just a complementary product."
The league was ruled to have broken antitrust laws by selling the package at an inflated price. After a trial, the jury determined them to be guilty, thus handing them a severe financial penalty. Of course, the NFL is fighting this verdict.
It remains to be seen what will happen, but if they lose their appeal, things could get interesting. NFL teams would have to pay substantial amounts of money, requiring owners to liquidate some assets to pay off the fines. It could be dicey for the league which suddenly has a dark cloud hanging over it.
NFL Sunday Ticket verdict: Roger Goodell backed into a corner
In the immediate aftermath of the Sunday Ticket verdict, the NFL offered up a statement from spokesperson Alex Riethmiller. They said, as Roger Goodell later echoed, that they were disappointed with the jury's ruling.
They also said they continue to believe that the league's distribution strategy is extremely fan-friendly:
"We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment."
A jury disagreed, but the result of the lawsuit is far from complete. As Goodell mentioned, this is a long legal process and will take time to conclude.