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The Department of Justice has reportedly launched a bombshell probe into the National Football League's potentially anticompetitive practices amid concerns from fans that they're getting priced out of watching the sport, a government official confirmed to the New York Post on Thursday (April 9).
Professional sports leagues are prohibited from anticompetitive conduct and mergers that hurt American consumers, according to the DOJ, however, the NFL was granted a limited scope of protection from antitrust laws in adherence with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which allows the league and franchises to negotiate television broadcast rights collectively. Media companies, members of Congress and federal regulators are all concerned that fans now face difficulties watching their favorite teams as games are put behind pricey streaming paywalls.
Consumers watched games over broadcast television, which remains accessible for free with an antenna for locally televised games, when the Sports Broadcasting Act was passed in 1961. The NFL has recently partnered with streaming services, such as YouTube and YouTube TV, requiring subscriptions to access out-of-market games.
"The NFL's media distribution model is the most fan- and broadcast-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry," the NFL said in a statement obtained by CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. "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's distribution and its wide availability to all fans."