Appeals court reinstates NFL Sunday Ticket verdict, orders new trial on damages

A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Friday that it was reinstating a jury's $4.7 billion verdict against the NFL in a class-action antitrust suit over its Sunday Ticket package, but ordered a new trial on damages. The three-judge 9th U.S. Circuit panel reversed a 2024 decision by U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez, who had thrown out the verdict and excluded testimony from two key witnesses. The Los Angeles jury had awarded $4.6 billion to residential subscribers and $96.9 million to commercial ones. Subscribers alleged that inflated prices protected broadcast-rights fees, and a new jury will decide how much the NFL owes.

Left-leaning coverage, represented here by The New York Times, leads with the reinstated verdict and the new damages trial, and reports the case returns to district court; its excerpt includes no league or plaintiff reaction. Alternative outlets Deadline and Awful Announcing also report the ruling. Deadline leads with the NFL saying it is considering its options after calling itself disappointed, while Awful Announcing stresses the decade-long litigation, the March oral arguments and the renewed liability finding under the Sherman Act. Right-leaning coverage, from the New York Post, leads with the $4.7 billion figure, breaks down the residential and commercial awards, and notes the league's earlier criticism of the damages. Neither the NFL nor the plaintiffs had responded to its requests for comment. All sides agree on the core ruling and the new damages trial; they differ mainly in emphasis.