Appeals court revives NFL Sunday Ticket verdict, orders new damages trial

The short version

• A federal appeals court revived a verdict that the NFL overcharged Sunday Ticket subscribers and reversed a judge who had tossed a $4.7 billion award.[The Hollywood Reporter]
• The district judge had thrown out the June 2024 award after excluding expert testimony, but the appeals court said that exclusion overstepped and the $4.7 billion damages finding cannot stand.[The Hollywood Reporter · Associated Press]
• The class covers 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses, and attorneys on both sides are considering their options while damages are retried.[Associated Press]

Key facts

• The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived a verdict that the NFL overcharged Sunday Ticket subscribers and ordered a new trial on damages.[The Hollywood Reporter]
• A jury awarded $4.7 billion in June 2024 to residential and commercial subscribers, and District Judge Philip Gutierrez later threw out the award.[Associated Press]
• The appeals court concluded that Gutierrez overstepped in her role as a gatekeeper of expert testimony.[The Hollywood Reporter]
• The appeals court ruled that the $4.7 billion verdict cannot stand because the jury's damages finding was not based on a proper consideration of the evidence.[The Hollywood Reporter]
• The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses that paid for the DirecTV Sunday Ticket package for out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons.[Associated Press]
• Attorneys for both sides said they are considering their options after the ruling.[Associated Press]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• NFL to Face New Trial Over ‘Sunday Ticket’ $4.7 Billion VerdictThe Hollywood Reporter metered
• Appellate court revives ‘Sunday Ticket’ antitrust verdict against the NFLAssociated Press · Wire: associated-press