There has been a years-long legal battle over NFL Sunday Ticket with lawsuits filed against the league and DirecTV. In February, it became a class action that could see the NFL pay $6 billion in damages over the way it handles the distribution of out-of-market games through that service. Now Google is being pulled into this lawsuit, according to a report from Reuters.
The lawsuit claims the NFL’s Sunday Ticket bundle is preventing individual teams from striking their own broadcast arrangements, forcing fans and businesses like sports bars to pay for the entire package to catch one out-of-state game. The NFL has dismissed the allegation and asked for a summary judgment and for the case to be thrown out (the motion was denied).
In February, a judge granted class action status to the case, actually separating it to two class action groups – one for individuals and a second for businesses. A trial is expected to kick off in 2024. If the NFL and DirecTV lose, it could be on the hook for $6 billion. Now that same group is suing Google to get the details of its deal with the NFL that brought the package to YouTube TV and YouTube.
The plaintiffs say Google is only willing to hand over summary documents, not the full contracts. Now they are suing Google to demand it hands over full copies of its contracts with the NFL for Sunday Ticket.
So how big is this lawsuit? There are 2.4 million people in the residential class action suit and 48,000 in the commercial class. If they win, the NFL and DirecTV could be forced to refund money to past NFL Sunday Ticket customers.
For now, we will have to wait and see if the judge decides to order Google to hand over its contract for NFL Sunday Ticket. At this time, the case has been filed, but a judge has not ruled on it yet. We are likely months away from knowing if Google will be forced to hand over its contracts with the NFL.