Estimated reading time: 7 minutes.
Key facts
- Case: In re National Football League's "Sunday Ticket" Antitrust Litigation (Ninth Inning, Inc. v. National Football League), Ninth Circuit Nos. 24-5493 and 24-5691, on appeal from No. 2:15-ml-02668 in the Central District of California.
- Ruling: On October 30, 2026, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel reinstated the jury's 2024 finding that the NFL broke federal antitrust law.
- Damages: The court agreed that the jury's roughly $4.7 billion award cannot stand and ordered a new trial on damages only.
- Who is covered: Residential and commercial DirecTV "Sunday Ticket" subscribers from June 2011 through February 2023, under classes the court left in place.
- NFL response: The league said it is disappointed and is weighing further court review, according to Reuters.
- Money now: There is no payment, settlement or claim form. A new jury still has to set the amount.
In this article
- What the appeals court decided
- How the case got here
- What the subscribers claimed
- Why the damages award was thrown out
- What the NFL says
- Legal terms in plain English
- What Sunday Ticket subscribers can do now
- What happens next
- Frequently asked questions
Millions of football fans who paid for NFL "Sunday Ticket" on DirecTV are back in the running for a share of a multibillion-dollar antitrust case.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco on Friday, October 30, 2026, overturned a trial judge's decision that had wiped out a jury verdict against the National Football League. The court restored the jury's finding that the league is liable, but said the amount of damages has to be decided again by a new jury.
The decision does not put money in anyone's pocket yet. It does mean the case is alive again, with the question of whether the NFL broke the law already answered against the league, unless a higher court steps in.
What the appeals court decided
The opinion was written by Judge Anthony D. Johnstone, joined by Judge Holly A. Thomas and U.S. District Judge Joan H. Lefkow, who sat on the panel by designation. The case was argued on March 9, 2026.
The panel made three main rulings:
- The experts should not have been thrown out. The trial judge, U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, had excluded the trial testimony of the subscribers' two economists after the verdict. The appeals court said that was an abuse of discretion, because flaws that can be attacked on cross-examination are for the jury to weigh.
- The liability verdict comes back. Because the judge's post-trial win for the NFL rested on throwing out those experts, the panel reversed it and told the trial court to reinstate the jury's liability finding.
- Damages get a new trial. The panel agreed with Judge Gutierrez that the jury's damages number did not follow the court's instructions, so it affirmed his order for a new trial limited to damages.
In a separate, shorter ruling issued the same day, the panel upheld the certification of the residential and commercial damages classes. It also reversed the NFL's win on the subscribers' claims for a court order under Section 16 of the Clayton Act, and sent back the question of whether the classes seeking that kind of order should be decertified now that the NFL's contract with DirecTV has ended.
The bottom line for fans The ruling restores the jury's finding that the NFL is liable, but no one has been awarded a final dollar amount. A second jury will decide how much subscribers lost, and the NFL may still seek further review.
How the case got here
Subscribers first sued the NFL and DirecTV in 2015. Their claims against DirecTV were sent to arbitration, and a trial court dismissed the case against the NFL. In 2019, the Ninth Circuit revived it, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the NFL's appeal in 2020.
Back in the trial court, Judge Gutierrez certified two classes: one of residential subscribers and one of commercial subscribers, such as bars and restaurants. According to the appeals court, Sunday Ticket served 24,105,049 residential subscribers and 506,788 commercial subscribers during the class period.
The case went to trial in Los Angeles in 2024. The jury found the NFL liable on every element of the subscribers' claims and awarded $4,610,331,671.74 to the residential class and $96,928,272.90 to the commercial class. Judge Gutierrez then granted the NFL judgment as a matter of law, setting the verdict aside.
What the subscribers claimed
The NFL is an association of 32 teams. According to the opinion, NFL games made up 46 of the top 50 television programs in 2021, and the league earned more than $100 billion between June 2011 and February 2023.
A 1961 federal law, the Sports Broadcasting Act, lets leagues sell the rights to "sponsored telecasting" of their games as a group without violating antitrust law. Courts have read that to cover free, ad-supported broadcasts like those on CBS and Fox. In its 2019 decision, the Ninth Circuit said the law does not protect league deals with cable or satellite services that charge subscribers a fee.
The subscribers challenged three linked agreements:
- The teams' agreement: the 32 teams pooled their telecast rights under the NFL's control.
- The network agreements: CBS and Fox aired local, in-market Sunday games for free.
- The DirecTV agreement: DirecTV received exclusive rights to sell out-of-market Sunday games through the Sunday Ticket package.
The subscribers alleged that together, these deals limited competition and kept Sunday Ticket prices high to protect the networks' local audiences. The opinion says residential list prices ranged from $200 to nearly $400 per season, and that bars and restaurants paid from thousands of dollars to more than $100,000 per season depending on size.
Why the damages award was thrown out
The subscribers relied on two economists. Dr. Daniel Rascher used college football as a yardstick, comparing the NFL to how college football telecasts became more competitive after the Supreme Court's 1984 NCAA v. Board of Regents decision. Dr. Zona offered models estimating what Sunday Ticket would have cost with more competition.
One of Dr. Zona's models estimated that DirecTV's exclusive deal cost residential subscribers $2.81 billion and commercial subscribers $670 million. Another estimated that Sunday Ticket would have been 24.6% cheaper if DirecTV had been free to set its own price.
The jury did not adopt either figure. The appeals court said the jury's award almost certainly came from multiplying the number of class members by $191.26. That number is the gap between the 2018 and 2019 residential list price of $294 and Dr. Zona's estimate of the average price subscribers actually paid, $102.74.
The problem, the court said, is that this gap measures the discounts DirecTV gave subscribers, not an overcharge caused by the NFL. The formula also applied a residential price difference to commercial subscribers, who paid very different prices. Reuters quoted the panel as saying the award rested "on its improper consideration of the evidence rather than according to the district court's instructions."
Why a new damages trial matters Under Section 4 of the Clayton Act, a private party that wins an antitrust case recovers three times its proven damages, plus costs and attorneys' fees. That makes the number a second jury picks especially important for both sides.
What the NFL says
In a statement reported by Reuters, the NFL said it was disappointed by the decision and is weighing its options for further court review. The league defended its approach as the "most fan-friendly distribution model" in sports and entertainment.
Earlier in the case, the NFL called the damages award "nonsensical" and argued that subscribers never proved with reliable evidence that its Sunday Ticket arrangements caused them harm, Reuters reported. Lawyers for the subscribers did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Legal terms in plain English
- Antitrust law: Federal laws, including the Sherman Act, that ban agreements and conduct that unreasonably limit competition.
- Judgment as a matter of law: A ruling by the judge, after a jury has heard the evidence, that no reasonable jury could have reached the verdict it did.
- Expert exclusion: Under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, judges decide whether expert testimony is reliable enough for a jury to hear.
- Damages-only trial: A new trial in which the jury does not revisit whether the defendant is liable. It only decides how much money is owed.
What Sunday Ticket subscribers can do now
If you paid for DirecTV Sunday Ticket at home, or at a bar or restaurant, between June 2011 and February 2023, you may be a member of one of the certified classes. There is nothing to file right now. No settlement exists and no final judgment has been entered.
It is reasonable to keep old DirecTV bills or account records showing your Sunday Ticket purchases, in case they are useful if money is ever distributed. The court has not said how any payments would be calculated or claimed.
Who counts as a class member The classes cover homes and businesses that bought Sunday Ticket from DirecTV during the class period, June 2011 to February 2023. Purchases made after February 2023 fall outside that period.
For cases accepting claimants now, see our list of class action cases you can join.
This article is for information only and is not legal advice.
What happens next
The NFL can ask the full Ninth Circuit to rehear the case or ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review it, and the league has said it is weighing further review. If the ruling stands, the case returns to the trial court in Los Angeles for a new damages trial. The two sides could also settle at any point. We will update this story as the case develops.
Frequently asked questions
What is the NFL Sunday Ticket lawsuit about?
Subscribers allege the NFL and its partners limited competition for out-of-market Sunday games, which kept Sunday Ticket prices on DirecTV artificially high from 2011 to 2023.
Did the appeals court reinstate the $4.7 billion verdict?
It reinstated the jury's finding that the NFL is liable, but not the $4.7 billion amount. A new jury will decide damages.
Who is in the Sunday Ticket class action?
Residential and commercial subscribers who bought DirecTV Sunday Ticket between June 2011 and February 2023, under the classes certified in the case.
Do I need to file a claim for Sunday Ticket money?
No. There is no claim form, settlement or final judgment. Any payment process would be announced later.
Why was the jury award rejected?
The appeals court agreed the award appeared to be based on DirecTV discounts rather than an overcharge caused by the NFL, so it did not follow the jury instructions.
What has the NFL said about the ruling?
The NFL said it is disappointed and is weighing options for further court review, according to Reuters.
