Dear NFL:
I’m a football fan. I love football. I structure a good chunk of my year around watching NFL football. I have many fond memories of watching football with my dad, my brother, my uncles, and friends in college. It is a cherished part of my life and a big part of my identity, as a sports fan.
That being said, my love of football does not blind me to some of your less-than-ethical practices as an organization. I’m as aware of those practices as anyone else with a balanced news feed. But I understand that no individual or organization is perfect. I only ask that the good done in the name of the sport outweighs the bad.
With that in mind, I have a brief message I’d like to send regarding the recent lawsuit surrounding NFL Sunday Ticket, which you lost. In general, I try not to root against the things I love. My lifelong love of football has made me more sympathetic than most might otherwise be to your business practices.
But with respect to NFL Sunday Ticket, I have no sympathy. I have no qualms about the results of this lawsuit. I believe the jury got it right. You, the NFL, did violate anti-trust laws in a way that was too brazen, even for America’s most popular sport.
This was painfully clear to many fans who struggled for years to watch the games they wanted. I remember how difficult it was for me in college whenever I tried to watch out-of-market games. Even with basic cable, the cost and the exclusivity of NFL Sunday Ticket far exceeded my ability to purchase it. I can’t speak for every other college student at the time, but I can confirm that it was a major hindrance, as well as a point of frustration.
Most of those peers resorted to illegal or pirated streams of games, which used to be very difficult to find. However, I can safely confirm that finding those streams has gotten a lot easier, due to the rise of social media and the greater global accessibility of various media. You and every other sports league in existence may fight those streams with all your legal might. But that is a losing battle.
Just ask anyone from the music industry what happened to piracy when they took down Napster and sued its users. It did not stop. It only complicated the problem.
Whether you call it a luxury product or a premium service, NFL Sunday Ticket was grossly overpriced. I challenge you or anyone from any other sports league to find a sports package that was that expensive. And now that the NFL is effectively streaming some games on streaming services, Sunday Ticket has lost even more value because it ensures you can’t get every game.
Please know that it doesn’t have to be this way. I understand that the NFL is a business, just like any other sports league. It needs to make a profit. But the NFL is already a very profitable business. And price gouging consumers with your product isn’t going to increase profits. It’s just going to ensure a large segment of your consumer base will find other ways to consume your product without paying.
You don’t want that.
The players don’t want that.
The coaches, owners, and sponsors don’t want that.
Entire generations of fans, young and old, don’t want that.
I don’t claim to be smart enough to know what the ideal price is for something like NFL Sunday Ticket, nor do I claim to know the best way to navigate the business of sports in an ever-changing world. But you can do better than this.
A jury just proved that what you were doing wasn’t just wrong, it was unlawful. I don’t doubt for a second that you have very well-paid lawyers who are going to fight this verdict and avoid paying the fines. But even if you manage to succeed in that effort, please use this lawsuit as an opportunity.
Re-evaluate your business practice.
Re-evaluate your approach to NFL Sunday Ticket.
Fans like me love football and want to continue watching it. But we don’t want to be price gouged.
Sincerely,
A Lifelong Football Fan
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