A Major Victory for Small Businesses: Mucky Duck Bar Takes on NFL Sunday Ticket

As a small business owner, taking on a giant corporation can be a daunting task. But for Mucky Duck bar in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset neighborhood, it was a fight worth fighting. The bar, along with other subscribers, has won a major victory against the National Football League (NFL) in a lawsuit claiming the league violated anti-trust laws with its subscription service, NFL Sunday Ticket.

The NFL Sunday Ticket controversy

The lawsuit, filed almost a decade ago, claimed that the NFL inflated prices and eliminated competition by bundling all out-of-market games through a single provider. According to Robert Freund, an e-commerce lawyer, “The deal that NFL Sunday Ticket and the NFL had, always struck me as unfair. The prices are just thrust upon them. Here is the deal - take it or leave it, that is really exactly the reason why anti-trust laws exist.”

The verdict, which came in Los Angeles in the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California, ordered the NFL to pay $4.7 billion in damages to subscribers of NFL Sunday Ticket. This is a major victory not just for Mucky Duck bar but for all small businesses and consumers who have been affected by the NFL’s anti-competitive practices.

“I think it is encouraging for small business owners that you can take a fight to major corporations. It can be done and this is a major victory for small businesses and consumers.” - Robert Freund

Mucky Duck Bar, the plaintiff in the lawsuit

The NFL plans to appeal the verdict, but for now, small businesses like Mucky Duck bar are celebrating their hard-won victory. As Noah Roberts, a bartender at Little Shamrock, near Mucky Duck, said, “It represents the Inner Sunset, it represents San Francisco.”

The price of Sunday Ticket was never easy for bars to afford. “You want to have every game on, and then one league charges an insane amount of money,” Roberts said. “Your hands are tied because you have to put the game on, and then you’re losing money, so what do you do? Do you lose the fans? Do you not sell beer? What do you do?”

NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell testified at the trial

The NFL’s anti-competitive practices have been a thorn in the side of small businesses for years. But with this verdict, it’s clear that the tide is turning. As Freund said, “No other major sports league in America has such a drastic, total elimination of competition in the broadcasting of its games.”

The NFL may appeal the verdict, but for now, small businesses like Mucky Duck bar are basking in the glory of their hard-won victory.

The NFL Sunday Ticket controversy