The House Judiciary Committee has requested NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to testify at an upcoming hearing. This hearing will explore the impact of the Sports Broadcast Act of 1961 on consumers. The letter, obtained by Fox News and OutKick, was sent by Committee Chairman Jim Jordan from Ohio.
Goodell’s testimony is sought for a session on June 10, but he is not under a subpoena. He is asked to inform the Committee of his decision by June 3. The specific date, time, and location for the hearing are June 10, 2026, at 10 a.m. in room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
“We respectfully request your testimony at a hearing titled ‘Examining the Sports Broadcasting Act,'” the letter states.
This hearing aims to investigate how the Sports Broadcasting Act affects the current broadcast market. It will look into how professional sports distribution has evolved since the Act’s inception 65 years ago. The focus will also be on whether the antitrust exemption granted by the Act has led to harm to consumers and if new legislation is required.
The NFL’s business model heavily relies on the antitrust exemption provided by the Sports Broadcasting Act. This Act permits leagues to pool TV rights and sell them as a package. This allows the NFL to negotiate broadcast deals on behalf of its 32 teams, which has proven beneficial for the league.
The NFL’s media-rights agreements through the 2033 season are valued at over $110 billion. The annual breakdown for major broadcasters includes:
- ABC/ESPN (Disney): around $2.7 billion
- FOX: around $2.2 billion
- CBS (Paramount): around $2.1 billion
- NBC (Comcast): around $2 billion
Presently, Congress, the Department of Justice, and the FCC are investigating potential violations of the Sports Broadcasting Act. These concerns arise from games being funneled to paid streaming services like Amazon, Netflix, and Peacock. Any legislative changes could profoundly affect the NFL.
Previously, the NFL has argued that its model is consumer-friendly, with 87% of games available on “free” TV. However, the move to subscription-based services like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix has sparked consumer complaints due to added costs.
This season, Amazon Prime has exclusive rights to a Black Friday game and 15 Thursday Night Football games. Netflix will stream two Christmas Day games, and Peacock will feature an exclusive regular-season game. Consumers are troubled by the cumulative cost of these subscriptions to access NFL games.