Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots drops back to pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LX Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
By Nick Givas April 9, 2026 at 3:04pm
The Department of Justice has reportedly launched an investigation into the National Football League over anticompetitive tactics that could harm the public.
NBC News reported Thursday that the federal government is investigating whether the NFL is charging consumers too much, now that games are broadcast across multiple streaming platforms that require paid subscriptions.
The story cited two unnamed sources who are “familiar with the investigation.”
The Justice Department’s investigation into the NFL is “about affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers,” one government official told the outlet.
Regulators, lawmakers, and media outlets have voiced concerns over the past several years about how difficult it has become for consumers to watch their preferred sports games as a result of these new rights deals.
In early March, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah sent a letter to Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson about “a new trend in televised sports that may harm American sports fans.”
“To watch every NFL game during this past season, football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions,” Lee wrote.
He added, “In practice, this requires subscribing to multiple streaming services and maintaining high-speed internet in addition to a traditional cable or satellite bundle.
The resulting fragmentation has produced consumer confusion and increasing costs for viewers attempting to watch their teams.”
Exclusive: The NFL is under investigation by the Justice Department over its broadcasting deals https://t.co/SQxG6moOrJ
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 9, 2026
The Utah Republican cited the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which granted limited antitrust immunity to allow professional football teams to “collectively license the ‘sponsored telecasts’ of their games to national broadcast networks.”
However, he said the “modern distribution environment differs substantially from the conditions that precipitated this exemption” and argued that paywalls and streaming services amount to a setup that “may no longer align with the statutory concept of sponsored telecasting or the consumer-access rationale underlying the antitrust exemption.”
“Accordingly, I request that your antitrust enforcement agencies examine the Sports Broadcasting Act and its applicability to the current media landscape,” Lee concluded.
He also commented after news of the investigation broke.
“Much has changed in sports broadcasting since 1961, raising new questions about the NFL’s antitrust exemption,” the GOP lawmaker said.
“I’m glad the DOJ is tackling this important issue, as I urged them to do last month.”
Nick Givas has been a reporter for The Daily Caller, Fox News, and served as Managing Editor of the Newsroom at Project Veritas. He’s also hosted three different podcasts, served as a Congressional Communications Director, and had his work featured in The Federalist, Daily Signal, New York Post, and Real Clear Politics.
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