A confused and out-of-touch Donald Trump believes fans are having to pay “$1,000 a game” to watch football on television.
During a Sunday interview on Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson, the 79-year-old president was asked whether the federal government would step in over alleged “price gouging” surrounding the broadcasting of America’s favorite sport.
Last month, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into whether the NFL is engaging in anticompetitive tactics that harm consumers by making more games available only through paid streaming subscription services.
After going off on a brief tangent to once again blast football’s dynamic kickoff rule—which aims to make the game safer for players by reducing on-field collisions—the president then vastly overstated how much fans pay to watch games on television.
Donald Trump waves while leaving the field before the game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Army West Point Black Knights at M&T Bank Stadium.
Donald Trump blasted the NFL’s schedule changes, which have left more games unavailable to watch for free.Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images/Reuters
“There’s something very sad when they take football away from many, many people. Very sad. I don’t like it,” Trump said.
“They’re making a lot of money. They could make a little bit less,” he added. “You have people that live for Sunday, they can’t think about anything else, and then all of a sudden they’re gonna have to pay $1,000 a game. It’s crazy, so I’m not happy about it.”
Trump, who has long faced concerns about his apparent declining mental acuity, appeared to confuse the total cost of subscribing to multiple streaming services over the course of an NFL season with the cost of watching a single game.
Fans wanting access to every NFL game may need subscriptions to services such as Netflix, Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video, in addition to traditional cable or satellite packages.
In March, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, wrote a letter to DOJ Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson expressing concern about the rapid shift of live football away from free network television.
“To watch every NFL game during this past season, football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions. In practice, this requires subscribing to multiple streaming services and maintaining high-speed internet in addition to a traditional cable or satellite bundle,” the MAGA senator wrote.
“The resulting fragmentation has produced consumer confusion and increasing costs for viewers attempting to watch their teams.”
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump participates in the coin toss before the start of the 126th Army-Navy Game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen at M&T Bank Stadium on December 13, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. The teams are competing for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, with President Trump attending the rivalry for the second consecutive year. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
There have been growing concerns about the trend of selling sports broadcast rights to streamers.Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Trump’s comments on the cost of watching the NFL arrived shortly after he weighed in on the eye-watering prices being charged for tickets to the upcoming soccer World Cup.
In an interview with the New York Post, the president blasted the fact that fans may have to pay more than $1,000 to watch the USA’s opening game against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in California on June 13.
“I did not know that number,” Trump said. “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the NFL for comment.