DOJ probing the NFL
The U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether the NFL engaged in anticompetitive practices as streaming deals shift to platforms like Netflix and Amazon, with multiple outlets reporting the probe is underway. (x.com) (x.com) (x.com)
The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into how the National Football League sells game rights as more matchups move behind paid streaming services. (reuters.com) Reuters, CNBC, NBC News and ABC News reported on April 9 that federal investigators are examining whether the league’s media deals force fans to pay too much in subscription fees to watch games. The National Football League and the Justice Department declined to comment to several outlets. (cnbc.com) The National Football League’s current media contracts run through the 2033 season with Amazon, CBS, ESPN and ABC, Fox and NBC, and the league said when it announced the deals in 2021 that all games would remain available on over-the-air television in local markets. Amazon’s package made Prime Video the exclusive national home of “Thursday Night Football.” (nfl.com) The pressure point is the streaming era. Netflix carried Christmas Day games in 2024 and 2025, Peacock has carried exclusive National Football League games, and YouTube became the home of Sunday Ticket starting with the 2023 season. (nfl.com) The legal backdrop is a 1961 federal law that lets pro sports leagues pool team television rights and sell them together in national packages. That antitrust carveout was written for broadcast television, and investigators now appear to be testing how far it reaches when games are split across cable and subscription apps. (uscode.house.gov) The league says its distribution model still favors fans because most games stay on free local broadcast stations. CNBC reported the National Football League called its setup “the most fan and broadcaster-friendly” in sports because local-market games remain free over the air. (cnbc.com) Federal scrutiny had already been building before the Justice Department probe. On February 25, the Federal Communications Commission opened a public inquiry into sports rights moving to streaming platforms, with Chairman Brendan Carr citing rising costs and a “patchwork” of separate services. (barrettmedia.com) The National Football League has also been fighting a separate antitrust battle over Sunday Ticket. A California jury awarded subscribers about $4.7 billion in June 2024, but the trial judge later threw out that verdict and entered judgment for the league. (nfl.com) No complaint has been filed, and the scope of the new investigation is still unclear. For now, the case turns on a simple question: whether the way football is sold in 2026 still fits the rules Congress wrote for television in 1961. (abcnews.go.com)
