A jury in federal court in California ruled Thursday that the NFL and its member teams violated federal antitrust law with their “Sunday Ticket” packages. Thursday’s historic jury verdict against the NFL and its member teams could leave the NFL liable for more than $14 billion in damages to plaintiffs, including individual fans and commercial establishments who purchased “Sunday Ticket,” but many are still waiting to know when their individual team packages will air and when they’ll receive their checks.
To quote the great Lee Corso, “There’s no need to rush, my friend.”
If we were to apply this to football, the ruling would be akin to the league being fired for a huge loss, one might say, as they face a third and long down.
But they might not punt right away and we’re in the first quarter of a game that likely hinges on the last play.
There may be some overtime work.
So let me talk a little bit about what happens next and how this ultimately plays out. But before that, it’s important to note that I was never the best lawyer in the world. The fact that I’m currently a sportswriter and not practicing law speaks volumes. I was in civil litigation for 10 years. I’ve never practiced before the Ninth Circuit. But I have a little bit of appellate experience on my resume, lying around somewhere…
What happens next?
NFL fans are about to get a crash course on complex civil litigation and the dates and scheduling issues surrounding such matters.
First, it seems worth mentioning that this lawsuit was first filed in 2015. That’s right, it’s taken almost a decade to get to this point.
It may still be in the first quarter.
The next step following this ruling will come at the end of July, when Judge Philip Gutierrez, the trial judge in the case, will hear post-trial motions. That hearing is scheduled for July 31.
The NFL will likely file motions in a number of different directions. Judgment regardless of the verdict (JNOV) Simply put, this is a motion that argues that, given all of the facts presented at trial, no reasonable juror could have reached the verdict that the jury in this case reached.
While this may be the football equivalent of a Hail Mary, it is notable that at several points in the trial, Judge Gutierrez expressed skepticism or downright dissatisfaction with the plaintiffs’ arguments. At one point, Judge Gutierrez told the plaintiffs’ lawyers:[y]You really have nothingGutierrez blamed the plaintiffs’ attorneys for making the case too complicated. “The way this case is being litigated is anything but simple,” he said. Attorneys representing subscribers“This case has turned into 25 hours of testimony and nonsense. … This case has gone in a direction that it should not have gone in.”
Still, that doesn’t mean Judge Gutierrez intends to set aside the ruling entirely, and there are other avenues the league could explore in post-trial hearings: They could argue that the damages awarded by the jury in the case were excessive and file a motion for damages.
Finally, as Michael McCann stated: The NFL will analyze the current status of the lawsuit and may ask Judge Gutierrez to put any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” structure on hold until the lawsuit is fully resolved.
Whether Judge Gutierrez rules on July 31 or later if he decides to consider the matter for a later decision, the league is likely to appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Post-verdict statement“We believe the class action claims in this case are frivolous and without merit, and we will certainly contest this decision,” the league said in a statement.
Again, they won’t be punting anytime soon.
If they appeal the case to the Ninth Circuit, it could be months, or even longer, before the Ninth Circuit rules on the matter. As McCann points out in his analysis above, “…appeals to the Ninth Circuit often take anywhere from a year and a half to nearly three years.” And the league will likely simply wait to make any changes to the Sunday Ticket structure until, as they claim, the case has been “reach a complete and final resolution.”
But that ruling may not come from the Ninth Circuit.
Yes, this could end up in the Supreme Court.
Will this actually go all the way to the Supreme Court?
A common joke in everyday life when someone is enduring the slightest bit of frustration is the line, “I’m going to take this to the Supreme Court.”
That might actually happen here.
Why? Personally, Professor of Constitutional Law Michael Gerhardt As was drummed into my brain during my first semester of law school, the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of matters of federal law. And while the lawsuit against the league is interesting in terms of what it might mean for the NFL and its fans, in reality, what’s at stake here is a pretty interesting (albeit boring) federal matter.
This is the current scope of application of the Sports Broadcasting Act. 15 U.S.C. § 1291-1295.
Passed in 1961 and signed into law by President John F. Kennedy, the SBA amended federal antitrust laws to allow sports leagues to pool all of their teams’ broadcasting rights and enter into exclusive league-wide agreements with networks.
In this case, the plaintiffs argued that the SBA did not apply to the “Sunday Ticket” package because it applies to “over-the-air” broadcasts, not cable or satellite packages. The leagues responded by arguing that the SBA’s language allowed them to launch a service like “Sunday Ticket,” and that the SBA prevented the plaintiffs from doing so.
Judge Gutierrez had previously ignored the league’s arguments. In a previous ruling denying the NFL’s motion for summary judgment,In doing so, Judge Gutierrez cited a previous decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“And the 9th Circuit has ruled that the NFL can sell its broadcasting rights in bulk to free, over-the-air television networks and [which] “League contracts with cable and satellite television services for which fees are charged to subscribers” are fully covered by the SBA, which does not provide an exemption from antitrust liability.”
Given that sports broadcasting has now shifted to cable and satellite television services, this is a question of federal law that could potentially involve the Supreme Court.
That means a final resolution will be delayed even further.
What happens in between?
You may be wondering, what happens in between?
waiting.
Civil cases move slowly, meaning post-trial proceedings are likely to drag on for months, if not years.
So if you’re a previous subscriber to DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket,” you might not want to run to the mailbox every day waiting for your check.
