The NFL is not only the most popular sport in the United States but also an incredible, multi-billion-dollar business. While college football, the NBA, and other major American sports are continually growing, the NFL remains king and leads the industry.
The NFL has 32 franchises, including the Houston Texans. Each organization is a business within the league, and the franchises are responsible for any legal matters the league encounters. Recently, the NFL lost an antitrust lawsuit.
Last week, the NFL lost an antitrust lawsuit against customers who purchased Sunday Ticket, an NFL streaming service for access to games, via DirecTV from 2011 to 2022. The jury earned residential consumers $4.7 billion in damages, with businesses being awarded nearly $100 million in damages. Under antitrust laws, the dollar number could as much as triple before it's all said and done.
ESPN released the details behind the jury's decision against the NFL.
"The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion. The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV," ESPN wrote.
For NFL teams, it might be time to break out the checkbook and dig deep, as the Texans, along with the other 31 franchises. Should the owed amount triple to $14.39 billion, each franchise would be liable for paying $450 million. While that dollar amount is no cheap price, the franchises operate a billion-dollar business. Owners should be able to pony up the money to put an end to the decade-long mistake from the league.
Texans owner Cal McNair is reportedly worth around $3 billion. Of course, no one wants a half-billion dollars in debt, but McNair should be able to take care of the bill.
