NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been summoned to appear before Congress as the league faces heightened federal scrutiny over its broadcast agreements and the increasing migration of games to subscription-based streaming platforms.
Congressional Hearing Scheduled
Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, dispatched a letter to the commissioner on Monday requesting his attendance at a hearing scheduled for June 10. The session will probe the NFL's television contracts and their alignment with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.
This 65-year-old legislation grants professional sports leagues a limited exemption from antitrust laws, enabling them to collectively negotiate media rights as a single entity while shielding them from related lawsuits. However, the law exclusively applies to broadcast networks; courts have previously determined that it does not extend to cable, satellite, or streaming services.
Bipartisan support has emerged for updating the statute, with President Donald Trump among those criticizing the NFL's pivot toward streaming. In his letter, Jordan stated that the hearing will “examine the extent to which the antitrust exemption created by the SBA has been used by the professional sports leagues to harm consumers and whether potential legislative remedies may be needed to address that harm.”
League Response and Ongoing Investigations
An NFL spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter. The congressional move coincides with a Justice Department investigation into the NFL for potential anticompetitive behavior. When the probe was disclosed in April, a government official—who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing nature of the inquiry—said it was “about affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers.”
In March, Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, urged the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to review whether the NFL's distribution methods comply with the 1961 law. The FTC has since solicited public input on the shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services.
NFL's Streaming Strategy
The NFL asserts that 87% of its games are available on free television, and contests exclusive to cable or streaming remain accessible over the air in the home markets of the competing teams. The league currently maintains broadcast or streaming agreements with CBS/Paramount+, NBC/Peacock, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and YouTube TV.
Thursday night games moved exclusively to Prime Video in 2022, and the league has since shifted a wild-card playoff game, Christmas Day contests, and a Black Friday game to streaming platforms. This season, Netflix will stream an opening-week matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, as well as a Green Bay Packers-Rams game the day before Thanksgiving.
