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The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the NFL to find out if the league has \u201cengaged in anticompetitive tactics\u201d regarding its game broadcasts, per <\/span>Jessica Toonkel and Dana Mattioli of the Wall Street Journal<\/span><\/a>. While the report acknowledges the character and scope of the investigation is presently unknown, it references the Sports Broadcast Act of 1961 and the incontrovertible fact that viewers must pay subscription fees to look at certain games.<\/span><\/p>\n The Act gives the NFL an antitrust exemption with respect to its negotiation of television rights, and courts have ruled the Act applies only to broadcast television. Cable, satellite, and streaming services are usually not covered.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>Nonetheless, in early March, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote a letter to the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission by which he urged those agencies to review whether the NFL\u2019s practices comply with the Act (via <\/span>ESPN News Services<\/span><\/a>). In his letter, Lee alleged football fans spend nearly $1,000 per yr on cable and streaming services, and Forbes estimated that it will have cost $765 for a fan to look at every NFL game last season.<\/span><\/p>\n It’s true that subscriptions are required to look at Monday Night Football games on ESPN that are usually not simulcast on ABC, Thursday Night Football games and the Black Friday contest on Prime Video, and Christmas games on Netflix. Some international games air on the NFL Network, which is now owned by ESPN, and the league has given certain games to Peacock and ESPN+ up to now. Select playoff games have also required subscriptions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Still, all games air free of charge in the published markets of the 2 participating clubs, and the NFL has issued a press release emphasizing that time. The statement reads:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The NFL\u2019s media distribution model is probably the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the whole sports and entertainment industry. With over 87% of our games on free, broadcast television, including 100% of games within the markets of the competing teams, the NFL has for a long time put our fans front and center in how we distribute our content. The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Since non-broadcast platforms are exempt from the Act, one would think the NFL could be within the clear here. Nonetheless, because the ESPN article observes, a jury in a 2024 federal class-action case in Los Angeles awarded $4.7 billion in damages after finding the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on the \u201cSunday Ticket\u201d subscription service. Federal antitrust laws allow for treble damages, so the NFL\u2019s liability could have exceeded $14 billion if the judge had not overturned the jury\u2019s verdict on the grounds that two of the plaintiffs\u2019 witnesses used \u201cflawed methodologies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The league\u2019s deals with most of its broadcast partners run through 2033 (2034 for ESPN), however the league has an opt-out after the 2029 season (2030 for ESPN). The ESPN report says the NFL is more likely to exercise its opt-out to capitalize on its immense popularity and land much more favorable terms. In spite of everything, Nielsen\u2019s data shows that 83 of the highest 100 broadcasts in 2025 were NFL games.<\/span><\/p>\n