JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO NFL

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether the National Football League has engaged in anticompetitive tactics amid complaints that watching football has become too expensive, according to people familiar with the situation.

The Sports Broadcasting Act, passed in 1961, grants the league limited antitrust protection that allows teams to collectively negotiate packages of TV rights. Media companies, regulators and members of Congress have raised concerns in recent months about how difficult and pricey it has become for consumers to watch their favorite sports, in part because of deals in which leagues offer smaller packages of games to streamers.

The nature and scope of the investigation couldn’t immediately be learned. Spokesmen for the Justice Department and the NFL declined to comment.

The NFL said it is the most fan- and broadcast-friendly league, with 87% of its games available on local TV. When NFL games are shown on streaming services, they are also available in the local TV markets of the teams playing.

The 2025 season was its most viewed since 1989, the league said, a reflection of “the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans.”

The fresh scrutiny of the NFL comes as the cost of rights to air high-profile sporting events rises, propelled in part by demand from deep-pocketed tech companies hoping to woo subscribers and advertisers. To meet that demand, the NFL has increasingly sliced off smaller packages of games and licensed them to streamers.

The result is a more fragmented viewing experience for consumers, who often need multiple subscriptions to watch all the games they seek. Streaming services have also raised subscription prices.

Sports has been the one type of content that has consistently driven TV ratings, advertising and distribution revenue and streaming subscriptions.

The NFL secured a combined average increase of 75% to 80% in fees from its media partners in its last major rights deal in 2021. In the NBA’s latest deals with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon, the league also significantly increased its annual fees.

Sports rights, particularly for NFL games, are generally the largest content expense for media companies. At the same time, traditional media companies are contending with shrinking TV audiences overall.

The sale of CBS parent Paramount to Skydance Media triggered a change-of-ownership clause allowing the NFL to renegotiate its $2.1 billion annual agreement. Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison has said he expects to maintain the company’s relationship with the NFL, which also owns a small stake in the company.

If the league reaches a new pact with CBS, it is expected to turn its attention to new deals with other rights holders.

The NFL’s deals with Fox, CBS, NBC and Amazon are up after the 2033 season, while its agreement with ESPN expires after the 2034 season. Under the NFL’s current agreements with CBS, NBC and Fox, the league has an opt-out window after the 2029-30 season.

Fox Corp. and The Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.

The league is weighing whether to waive its right to opt out of current deals after the 2029-30 season in exchange for higher rights fees now, people familiar with the matter said. The rights holders would ideally like the deals lengthened in exchange for paying more, people familiar with their thinking said.

“The NFL is by far the most valuable programming that exists today,” Bank of America analysts wrote in a February note. The analysts said Fox was the most exposed stock in their coverage to a potential renewal.

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said at a March investor conference that to the extent that there was any additional cost for NFL programming, it “would float through to local affiliates, to our distributors, and ultimately to consumers and to fans.” “We think we’re paying a market price for the NFL today,” he said.

Some traditional media companies have said they are in an unfair position relative to streamers, which are looking to pick up more games. Netflix is seeking to expand its current two-game package to four games, including a new Thanksgiving eve matchup, The Wall Street Journal first reported.

In comments to the Federal Communications Commission, Fox has argued, among other things, that streamers have an unfair advantage and deeper pockets to compete for sports rights because they don’t face the same government regulations as broadcasters.

When the Sports Broadcasting Act was passed, consumers largely were able to watch NFL games over broadcast TV. Now, games appear on a host of different channels and platforms, some of which require a subscription.

In February, the FCC announced it was seeking public comment on how this dynamic had affected consumers. Republican Sen. Mike Lee, chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, submitted a letter last month to the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission requesting a review of the antitrust exemption for the league.

“Much has changed in sports broadcasting since 1961, raising new questions about the NFL’s antitrust exemption,” Lee said in a Thursday statement to The Wall Street Journal. “I’m glad the DOJ is tackling this important issue, as I urged them to do last month.”

Write to Jessica Toonkel at [email protected] and Dana Mattioli at [email protected]

2026-04-09T14:35:38Z