The House Judiciary Committee scrutinized the NFL and its compliance with a 65-year-old broadcasting antitrust law during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.The panel’s antitrust subcommittee considered whether the professional football league overstretched its antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 by pooling the television rights for all 32 teams into a package that is then sold to various cable networks and streaming services. The committee’s antitrust investigation into the NFL commenced in August 2025 in response to constituents’ concerns about the high costs, according to a source familiar with the situation.If fans wanted to watch all of the games in the 2025 season outside the traditional broadcasters such as CBS and Fox, they would have needed to pay subscriptions to the NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” offering on YouTube, Netflix, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN Unlimited, and NFL+. All of those services would have cost between $575 and $780 for the season, according to Fox News.
The bipartisan House panel questioned four witnesses, including OutKick President Clay Travis, who accused the NFL of price gouging its massive audience in his opening statement.
“Every single day, sports fans are getting gouged now for the opportunity of watching their favorite teams,” Travis said in part. “Fans now pay far more money every year for something that, by law in 1961, you all guaranteed for them should be free.”
