NFL analyst highlights league's lack of concern despite $4,800,000,000 judgment

The NFL was handed a bombshell judgment against them last week by the District Court in Los Angeles, California. The league has been ordered to pay a massive $4.8 billion to the plaintiffs in the Sunday Ticket lawsuit. However, as per one analyst, this hasn’t rattled the cage of the NFL.

This class action lawsuit involved 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses. The jury held that the NFL’s practice of bundling out-of-market games in a package amounted to anti-trust violations.

NFL analyst Daniel Kaplan has been on top of this case for some time. On Wednesday, he appeared on Ross Tucker’s podcast to give further details on the future of this case.

On the podcast, Kaplan highlighted the path forward for the NFL following the judgment.

“The legal experts were saying, ‘A jury trial in Los Angeles, hitting the big bad NFL, which is super wealthy, with hurting the local bar in San Francisco and overcharging them'. It was easy to see coming. So, the next question is on appeal, what chances did they have.

“And I think I mentioned the Judge Kavanaugh opinion in the 2020 decision not to hear the case at that time gives the NFL a lot of confidence. They think they have very strong grounds on appeal and I don't detect a lot of concern at the NFL Headquarters right now.” [21:20 – 22:00]

The NFL went to the Supreme Court in 2020 regarding this case. The apex court did not choose to hear the case, but Judge Brett Kavanaugh had opined positively in favor of the league. The NFL, as per Kaplan, is banking on a similar ruling when this case goes to the Supreme Court again.

The NFL could be forced to change its stand

Despite high-profile witnesses speaking in favor of the league, such as the owners of the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots, it did not benefit them.

Earlier, NFL analyst Mike Florio had predicted that this case could change the way the league works.

“So, however this plays out, it could force the NFL to really change the way that games are made available to consumers. And that's a win for all of us, regardless of the verdict,” said Florio on The Pat McAfee Show.

The next date in the Los Angeles District Court for the hearing is July 31. The NFL is expected to file a motion against the jury’s decision and then begin its appeals process.