A scathing report released on Monday by the House Judiciary Committee and its chairman Jim Jordan, takes the NFL to task, arguing that America's most popular sports league has ignored the narrow guardrails of the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act and its antitrust exemption while on a journey to becoming a lucrative sports empire.All while limiting consumer choices and inflating prices for viewing games.The report, obtained by Fox News, includes the central argument on pages 8–9 that Congress created the Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) to keep games widely available on free television and help a struggling league survive.But what has happened since 1961, lawmakers argue, is that the antitrust exemption created to lift the NFL instead created one of the most powerful sports media businesses in the world that stretched the narrow boundaries of the exemption.Rep.Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep.
Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member, attend a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan.22, 2026.
(Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg)CONGRESS TARGETS NFL'S $110B BROADCAST MODEL AS JIM JORDAN REQUESTS GOODELL TESTIFY AT JUNE 10 HEARINGYou know the report wasn't going to be friendly to the NFL by simply reading the title.The Sports Broadcasting Act: A special-interest antitrust exemption gone awry.The report, at its heart, zeroes in on the league's Sunday Ticket offering.It highlights evidence from the ongoing Sunday Ticket antitrust case, including a 2024 jury verdict that found the NFL violated antitrust law and awarded more than $4.796 billion in damages to plaintiffs.
That verdict was later vacated by a judge, wrongfully so, according to the report.NFL’S GROSSLY EXPANDED NATIONAL SCHEDULE IS MAKING REDZONE AND SUNDAY TICKET LESS ESSENTIALThe report also cites internal data suggesting most Sunday Ticket subscribers aren't "avid fans who want every game," but rather fans trying to watch one out-of-market team."Streaming service EverPass Media announced i...