Supreme Court allows antitrust suit against NFL to proceed
Source: Associated Press
Supreme Court allows antitrust suit against NFL to proceed
November 2, 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court said Monday an antitrust challenge can go forward to the way the National Football League sells the rights to telecasts of pro football games.
The leagues 32 teams pool the rights to telecast their games, negotiating packages with the major networks as well as the DirecTV satellite service. The lawsuit was filed by businesses and individuals who say they purchased a package of games from DirecTV. A lower court ruled that the NFLs contract with DirecTV may limit competition in violation of federal law. The arrangement has been in place for more than 25 years.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that in rejecting the NFLs appeal at this early stage of the lawsuit, the high court was not necessarily endorsing the claims. In sum, the defendantsthe NFL, its teams, and DirecTVhave substantial arguments on the law. If the defendants do not prevail at summary judgment or at trial, they may raise those legal arguments again in a new appeal to the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh wrote.
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