A jury ordered the NFL to pay about $4.7 billion in damages in June 2024, but that is not the current status of the award. On August 1, 2024, a federal judge set aside the verdict. The case administrator says the plaintiffs appealed; the sources available here do not establish the appeal’s latest outcome. There is no confirmed payment or subscriber check described in those sources.
What the $4.7 billion verdict covered
The class action challenged the NFL’s distribution of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games through NFL Sunday Ticket, which DirecTV carried during the relevant period. The classes included approximately 2.4 million U.S. residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses that paid for the service for the 2011 through 2022 seasons, according to NFL.com and the Associated Press.
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The jury returned its verdict on June 27, 2024. Its reported damages were about $4.61 billion for residential subscribers and $96.9 million for commercial subscribers.
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →| Class | Jury damages | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Residential subscribers | $4,610,331,671.74 | NFL.com, 2024 |
| Commercial subscribers | $96,928,272.90 | NFL.com, 2024 |
The two amounts total approximately $4.707 billion, commonly rounded to $4.7 billion.
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Why the judge set the verdict aside
On August 1, 2024, U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez granted the NFL’s motion for judgment as a matter of law and set aside the jury verdict. NFL.com reported that the judge found the methods used by subscriber-side expert witnesses Daniel Rascher and John Zona flawed and ruled their testimony should have been excluded.
The judge’s stated reasoning, as quoted by NFL.com, was: “Without the testimonies of Dr. (Daniel) Rascher and Dr. (John) Zona, no reasonable jury could have found class-wide injury or damages.” This explains the district court’s post-trial decision; it is not an appellate ruling.
Why some reports mention $14.1 billion
The jury’s base damages award was approximately $4.7 billion, not $14.1 billion. Federal antitrust law can allow damages to be trebled, and NFL.com and the Associated Press reported a potential trebled total of $14,121,779,833.92. That was contingent exposure associated with the jury verdict, not a separate amount the jury awarded. Because the judge later set aside the verdict, it should not be described as money currently owed or payable.
Will Sunday Ticket subscribers get a check?
The sources cited here do not establish that subscribers will receive a payment, or that a settlement has been reached. The case administrator’s official case page says class members do not need to act now and that plaintiffs have appealed, with more information to follow after appeals are complete. The page does not specify when that notice was last updated, so check it for case updates rather than treating the notice as a current docket entry.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about the appeal
The case administrator reports that the plaintiffs appealed the district judge’s decision. The sources cited here do not establish the latest appellate docket status or whether the appeal has produced a new ruling. Until a later court order or case update is confirmed, the accurate distinction is that a jury returned a verdict, the district judge set it aside, and the appeal’s disposition is not established here.
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