Senators Threaten NFL on Making Games Available on TV

More than a dozen senators called on the National Football League (NFL) to make its exclusive coverage of certain games on the NFL Network publicly available to fans.

“We write today because we are disappointed that, rather than building on this success, the NFL will return to restricting games to the NFL Network,” 13 senators wrote to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “That the NFL would choose to have fewer viewers for select games again this year is an indication of its interest in moving toward a pay television model.”

Noting that the Congress has granted antitrust exemptions to the NFL to guarantee free broadcasts of games on network television, the senators criticized the NFL for narrowly interpreting the exemption, and suggested that a lawsuit to resolve their concerns may be possible.

“Ultimately, it may be for the courts to determine whether the NFL member teams are using the NFL Network to restrict the output of game programming in a manner that violates the antitrust laws,” they wrote.

About half of the senators who wrote represent states who fall under at least one NFL team’s footprint. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) fall under the umbrella of the New England Patriots. Sen. Arlen Specter’s (R-Pa.) state contains the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles franchises, while Sens. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) and Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) fall under the Denver Broncos. Signatory Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), meanwhile, represents the Chicago Bears’ hometown.

–Michael O’Brien