Manchester United part-owners the Glazer family are facing a potential bill running into hundreds of millions of dollars after a court judgement affecting all NFL team owners.
A California jury ruled that the National Football League (NFL) violated antitrust laws, ordering it to pay $4.7 billion in damages to customers who purchased its Sunday Ticket package for live games via satellite television.
This decision, stemming from a federal class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles, could significantly impact the distribution of sports rights.
The Glazers, who recently sold a 25% stake in the premier league club to Ineos billionaire and Labour Party supporter Jim Ratcliffe, owns Florida-based franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of the 32 American Football teams affected by the ruling.
The lawsuit was filed by subscribers to the NFL’s Sunday Ticket, who argued that the league’s practice of limiting certain Sunday afternoon games to pay TV restricted competition, violating antitrust rules.
The jury's decision may lead to changes in how live sports rights are bundled and sold.
The NFL expressed disappointment with the verdict and plans to contest it, defending its media distribution strategy as the most fan-friendly in sports and entertainment. The league claims the lawsuit's allegations are unfounded.
Based on a simple division of the US$4.7 billion among the NFL teams gives a bill of US$147 million for each of the team’s owners but under Federal anti-trust rules that amount could be tripled.