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The House Judiciary Committee connected Monday requested NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell attest astatine a proceeding that will analyse whether nan Sports Broadcast Act of 1961 has been utilized by sports leagues "to harm consumers," according to a missive obtained by Fox News and OutKick.
The letter, from Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R, Ohio), requests Goodell attest connected June 10.
This is not a lawsuit , truthful Goodell tin opt to attest aliases not. He is instructed to fto nan Committee cognize his intentions by June 3.
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An NFL spokesperson did not instantly respond to an email seeking confirmation arsenic to nan commissioner's intentions.
"We respectfully petition your grounds astatine a proceeding titled "Examining nan Sports Broadcasting Act" connected June 10, 2026, astatine 10:00 a.m., successful room 2141 of nan Rayburn House Office Building," nan missive to Goodell reads.
"This proceeding will analyse nan Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) of 1961 and its effect connected nan modern broadcast marketplace for awesome sports leagues. In particular, this proceeding will analyse nan ways successful which nan distribution of master sports has evolved since nan SBA was first enacted 65 years ago.
"It will besides analyse nan grade to which nan antitrust exemption created by nan SBA has been utilized by nan master sports leagues to harm consumers and whether imaginable legislative remedies whitethorn beryllium needed to reside that harm."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is pictured speaking successful an image provided by Imagn Images.
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That sounds ominous and should beryllium for nan NFL because its business exemplary hinges connected nan antitrust exemption wrong nan Sports Broadcasting Act.
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 grants master sports leagues, including nan NFL, a constricted antitrust exemption that allows teams to excavation their tv authorities and waste them collectively arsenic a convention package alternatively than having each squad discuss its ain broadcasting contracts.
So, nan NFL is capable to discuss tv contracts arsenic 1 entity connected behalf of its 32 teams. That has been a boon to nan league.
The NFL's current media-rights agreements, which tally done nan 2033 season, are reportedly worthy much than $110 cardinal overall. The yearly values for nan 4 awesome broadcast partners are:
- ABC/ESPN (Disney): astir $2.7 cardinal per year.
- FOX: astir $2.2 cardinal per year.
- CBS (Paramount): astir $2.1 cardinal per year.
NBC (Comcast): astir $2 cardinal per year.
Netflix and NFL signage advertises nan NFL's 2 Christmas Day marquee games streaming unrecorded connected Netflix successful New Orleans, Louisiana, connected Dec. 1, 2024. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
If Congress, nan Department of Justice aliases nan FCC — each of which are conducting probes into really master sports leagues whitethorn beryllium violating nan Sports Broadcasting Act by funneling games to salary streaming sites specified arsenic Amazon, Netflix, Peacock and others — determine a alteration is necessary, it could stone nan NFL to its foundation.
So, arsenic nan missive from Jordan to Goodell states, nan commissioner should beryllium "prepared to summarize your grounds pinch a five-minute opening connection and reply questions posed by Subcommittee members," immoderate of whom mightiness not beryllium treating nan commissioner arsenic a friends witness.
The NFL has antecedently made a presentation earlier nan FCC to person that assemblage that nan league's business exemplary is bully for consumers arsenic 87 percent of its games are connected alleged "free" television.
But consumers person complained that nan advent of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, which require consumers salary a subscription fee, has affected their wallet arsenic nan NFL has siphoned aggregate games to nan services successful caller years.
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This coming season, Amazon Prime holds exclusive nationalist authorities to nan NFL's yearly Black Friday crippled successful summation to 15 Thursday Night Football games, while Netflix will transportation 2 Christmas Day games and Peacock streams an exclusive regular-season matchup.
The costs for consumers of adding each those services to person entree to nan games is astatine nan guidelines of their complaints.
FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO
Armando Salguero is OutKick's Senior NFL Writer.
