The Justice Department opened an antitrust investigation into the NFL's television deals Thursday, raising questions about whether the league's 1961 broadcast exemption still applies in the streaming era
20:31 ET, 09 Apr 2026Updated 20:32 ET, 09 Apr 2026
The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into the NFL's television deals
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The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into the NFL's television deals(Image: Getty)
The NFL has spent decades operating under a legal shield that competitors in virtually every other American industry could only dream of.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced it has opened an investigation into whether that shield has been abused, and whether the league's television distribution model has crossed into anticompetitive territory at the expense of ordinary fans.
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The probe, first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed to ABC News and NBC News by government officials, centers on the NFL's television contracts and the subscription costs now required for fans to watch a significant portion of the league's games. Meanwhile, a former NFL player involved in a love triangle was shot and taken to a local hospital.
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A government official told ABC News the investigation is straightforward in its intent. "This is about affordability and creating an even playing field for providers," the official said.
The legal backdrop is the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which granted professional sports leagues an antitrust exemption specifically for negotiating broadcast television rights. At the time, that meant free, over-the-air television.
The media landscape the league now operates in looks nothing like 1961. NFL games are currently spread across ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and NFL Network, with several packages requiring paid subscriptions. Forbes estimated the cost of watching every NFL game via streaming last season at $765.
The NFL, led by commissioner Roger Goodell, is rapidly expanding its global reach
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The NFL, led by commissioner Roger Goodell, is rapidly expanding its global reach(Image: Getty)
Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who chairs the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, put the figure even higher in a letter he sent to the DOJ last month urging the investigation.
"To watch every NFL game during the past season, football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions," Lee wrote. He applauded Thursday's development on social media, adding: "Much has changed in sports broadcasting since 1961, raising new questions about the NFL's antitrust exemption. I'm glad the DOJ is tackling this important issue, as I urged them to do last month."
The NFL pushed back firmly, pointing to the breadth of its free coverage. "The NFL's media distribution model is the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry," the league said in a statement.
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"With over 87% of our games on free, broadcast television, including 100% of games in the markets of the competing teams, the NFL has for decades 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."
The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story, noted that the nature of the probe had not been fully defined. The DOJ declined to comment when contacted by ABC News, and the White House referred questions back to the Justice Department.
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The investigation arrives at a delicate moment in the NFL's relationship with its broadcast partners. The league's current rights deals run through 2033 with most outlets and 2034 with ESPN, but include opt-out clauses after the 2029 season that the league is widely expected to exercise, given that 83 of the top 100 broadcasts last year were NFL games.
The league earns nearly $11 billion per season from its media deals, a figure that could rise further following Paramount's sale to Skydance Media, which would allow the NFL to renegotiate its arrangement with CBS.