The NFL took a $4.7 billion loss in court last month, but there's a chance that the league might not have to pay out a single dollar of the verdict, John Breech of CBS Sports reports.
During a hearing on Wednesday in Los Angeles, the league asked the court to throw out the verdict, and although no decision has been made about whether that will happen, U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez certainly sounded open to the idea.
According to the Associated Press, Gutierrez believes that the jury didn't follow instructions when it calculated the amount of damages that the NFL was going to owe in the case.
Over the course of the three-week trial, the jury had been presented three financial models that it could use to help calculate possible damages. At the end of the trial, Gutierrez had emphasized to the eight-person jury that they better not go rogue when trying to calculate a dollar amount for the verdict. "Damages may not be based on guesswork or speculation," Gutierrez said on June 26, via the AP. "Plaintiffs must prove the reasonableness of each of the assumptions upon which the damages calculation is based."
During the hearing on Wednesday, the NFL pointed out that the jury disregarded the judge's warning and Gutierrez agreed.
"There's no doubt about what they did," Gutierrez said, via Courthouse News. "They didn't follow the instructions."
The jury came up with its own formula for awarding damages, which is how it landed on the $4.7 billion number, an amount that would actually be $14.1 billion if it sticks since damages can be tripled in federal antitrust cases.
The jury ruled against the NFL because it believed the league worked together with its network partners to inflate the price of "Sunday Ticket." The NFL disputed that claim during the trial and once again disputed it during Wednesday's hearing.
"Today we asked the district court to set aside the jury's verdict in this case, which is contrary to the law and unsupported by the evidence presented at trial," the league said in a statement. "The NFL's media distribution model is the most fan friendly in sports, with all games broadcast locally on free over-the-air television in addition to many other choices available to fans who want even more access to NFL content. We will continue to pursue all avenues in defense of the claims brought in this case."
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