LOS ANGELES — NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers' attorney Amanda Bonn told a California jury on Thursday that secret documents will reveal the NFL's anticompetitive behavior, costing subscribers $7 billion. During the opening statements of the multibillion-dollar antitrust suit, Bonn promised that the trial would expose the "darker side of the NFL behind the shield."

NFL Ticket Pricing Lawsuit

Representing two classes of subscribers, Bonn argued that "never-before-seen" documents would show the NFL's deliberate actions to keep Sunday Ticket package prices high to protect lucrative deals with CBS and Fox. These deals ensured low subscriber numbers for the Sunday Ticket package offered by DirecTV from 2011 to 2022.

In December 2002, top NFL executives and attorneys met in New York to renegotiate with DirecTV. According to Bonn, a key document discussed at the meeting, marked "antitrust" in the margin, indicated the NFL's awareness that controlling DirecTV's pricing could be illegal. Despite this, the NFL allegedly maintained control through covert agreements.

Bonn asserted that the NFL's actions aimed to appease CBS and Fox by keeping Sunday Ticket subscribers low and ensuring the regular broadcast ratings remained high. This strategy, she argued, constituted price fixing and antitrust violations.

The NFL and DirecTV have been battling the antitrust allegations since 2015, with over 20 lawsuits centralized into multidistrict litigation. Bonn stated that the plaintiffs are seeking $7 billion in damages, which could be trebled under antitrust law to $21 billion.

Beth A. Wilkinson of Wilkinson Stekloff LLP, representing the NFL, countered that the NFL's pricing discussions with DirecTV were not secretive and that DirecTV ultimately set the prices. She highlighted various other ways fans could watch NFL games during the class period.

Wilkinson argued that the exclusivity of the Sunday Ticket package was not anticompetitive, comparing it to exclusive broadcasts of TV shows like "Seinfeld" and "Game of Thrones."

The first witness, former NFL Vice President Steve Bornstein, testified that he had little memory of the meetings and emails related to Sunday Ticket negotiations but insisted that DirecTV set the pricing during his tenure.

The trial continues Friday.

Plaintiffs' Counsel:

• Susman Godfrey LLP: Marc M. Seltzer, Kalpana Srinivasan, Amanda Bonn, William C. Carmody, Seth Ard, Tyler Finn, Ian M. Gore
• Hausfeld LLP: Scott Martin, Sathya S. Gosselin, Christopher L. Lebsock, Samuel Maida, Farhad Mirzadeh
• Langer Grogan & Diver PC: Howard Langer, Edward Diver, Peter Leckman, Kevin Trainer

NFL's Counsel:

• Wilkinson Stekloff LLP: Rakesh N. Kilaru, Beth A. Wilkinson, Brian L. Stekloff, Max J. Warren, Anastasia M. Pastan, Jeremy S. Barber
• Covington & Burling LLP: Neema T. Sahni, Gregg H. Levy, Derek Ludwin, John S. Playforth

Case Information:

• Case Name: In re: National Football League's Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation
• Case Number: 2:15-ml-02668
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California