The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation into the National Football League to determine whether the league’s television contracts violate competition laws by requiring fans to pay subscription fees to watch certain games.
Sources confirmed to ABC News that the investigation is focused on affordability and ensuring fair competition among broadcasters and streaming providers. The report was first published by The Wall Street Journal, though the full scope and timeline of the Justice Department’s review remain unclear.
The NFL currently benefits from an antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which allows teams to collectively negotiate television contracts. However, the exemption applies only to traditional broadcast television, and courts have ruled that it does not cover cable, satellite, or streaming platforms.
Under the league’s current media agreements, NFL games are distributed across multiple major broadcasters and streaming services, including ESPN, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Prime Video, and Netflix. Fans are required to subscribe to certain services to watch specific events, such as Monday Night Football games on ESPN that are not simulcast on ABC, Thursday Night Football on Prime Video, Black Friday games on Prime Video, and select Christmas Day games on Netflix. Some international matchups also air on NFL Network, while select postseason games have previously streamed on ESPN+ and Peacock.
Despite the subscription requirements, all NFL games continue to air for free on local broadcast stations within the markets of the participating teams. In response to the investigation, the NFL released a statement defending its media distribution model, stating that more than 87% of its games remain available on free broadcast television, including all games within local team markets. The league added that the 2025 season recorded its highest viewership since 1989, demonstrating strong fan engagement and wide accessibility.
Interest in reviewing the NFL’s distribution practices increased earlier this year after Mike Lee, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, sent a letter to the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission on March 3 urging officials to evaluate whether the league’s current distribution methods comply with the Sports Broadcasting Act.
In his letter, Lee noted that football fans are spending increasingly large amounts on cable and streaming subscriptions, estimating that some viewers pay close to $1,000 annually to watch games. Estimates by Forbes suggested that accessing every NFL game through streaming platforms last season cost approximately $765.
The Justice Department declined to comment publicly when contacted about the investigation. Meanwhile, the NFL continues to generate massive revenue from its media rights agreements, averaging nearly $11 billion per season. That total could increase following the sale of Paramount Global to Skydance Media, which allows the league to renegotiate its contract with CBS.
Most of the NFL’s current broadcast rights agreements run through 2033, with contracts involving ESPN extending through 2034. The league also holds an opt-out clause after the 2029 season, which analysts believe could be exercised given the NFL’s dominance in television ratings. According to Nielsen, 83 of the top 100 most-watched broadcasts last year were NFL games.
The Sports Broadcasting Act also includes rules allowing blackout restrictions for out-of-market games sold through subscription packages. The NFL ended its local television blackout policy in 2014, which previously prevented games from airing locally if they failed to sell out at least 72 hours before kickoff.
In 2024, a jury in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that the NFL violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games through a premium subscription service, awarding $4.7 billion in damages. However, a federal judge later overturned the verdict, citing flawed testimony from key witnesses.
That lawsuit covered approximately 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who purchased the “Sunday Ticket” package on DirecTV between the 2011 and 2022 seasons. The “Sunday Ticket” package is now distributed through YouTube TV, reflecting the NFL’s continued shift toward streaming-based distribution.
The outcome of the Justice Department’s investigation could have major implications for NFL broadcasting rights, streaming accessibility, and the overall cost of watching professional football in the United States.
