DOJ investigates NFL: Wisconsin congressman, Packers voice positions

MILWAUKEE - As the U.S. Department of Justice investigates the NFL for potentially anticompetitive practices, a Wisconsin congressman on Thursday said sports fans should be able to watch games "without having to pay for multiple cable and streaming packages."

Fitzgerald weighs in

Local perspective:

Last year, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary opened an investigation into the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act. The legislation grants limited antitrust immunity for major sports leagues, allowing teams to collectively license game broadcasts to national networks.

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U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wisconsin) chairs the subcommittee that has jurisdiction over antitrust matters. On X, Fitzgerald wrote Thursday:

"When the [House Judiciary GOP] opened its investigation into the Sports Broadcasting Act last year, we wanted to know whether the major sports leagues were distorting what broadcasting may be permissible under its antitrust exemption. I am glad the Trump DOJ is questioning this behavior as well. Wisconsin sports fans should have access to their teams’ games without having to pay for multiple cable and streaming packages."

Packers express concern

Local perspective:

FOX6 News obtained a letter the Green Bay Packers emailed to Fitzgerald in March, before the DOJ investigation was reported. In that letter, the organization addressed the House committee's review and said "disruption" to the current Sports Broadcasting Act model "would pose an existential threat to the Green Bay Packers and their existence in Green Bay as we know it."

The Packers said the Sports Broadcasting Act permits the NFL and its teams to negotiate national broadcast rights collectively, which "ensures revenue-sharing" and "stable financial footing" that has allowed the organization to "remain viable and competitive" in Green Bay.

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"As the only publicly owned franchise in American professional sports, and by far the smallest market team in the NFL, we respectfully request that the Committee recognize the essential role this legacy piece of legislation has played in sustaining our small market team," the letter read, in part.

The Packers urged Fitzgerald to "consider the impact" changes to the Sports Broadcasting Act could have and expressed interest in discussing with members of Congress the "vital role it plays in sustaining the Packers."

Lambeau Field, Green Bay

Federal investigation

Big picture view:

The Sports Broadcasting Act exemption passed in 1961 applies only to broadcast television. Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other media, including cable, satellite and streaming.

The investigation into the NFL comes amid increasing federal scrutiny of the amount of money fans are paying to watch sports on television. The NFL said in a statement Thursday that over 87% of its games are available on broadcast television, including all that are played in a team's local market.

"The NFL’s media distribution model is the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry. The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans," the league said in its statement.

(Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

Utah Sen. Mike Lee, chair of the Senate judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy, and consumer rights, wrote a letter to the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission on March 3 urging them to review whether the NFL’s distribution methods are in line with the Sports Broadcasting Act.

"The modern distribution environment differs substantially from the conditions that precipitated this exemption. Instead of a small number of free broadcast networks, the NFL now licenses games simultaneously to subscription streaming platforms, premium cable networks, and technology companies operating under different business models," the Republican senator wrote. "To the extent collectively licensed game packages are placed behind subscription paywalls, these arrangements may no longer align with the statutory concept of sponsored telecasting or the consumer-access rationale underlying the antitrust exemption."

Lee said in his letter that football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions. Forbes estimated the cost of watching every NFL game via streaming last season at $765.

The NFL aired games last season on CBS, NBC, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube TV. All four of the major North American professional sports leagues have deals with streaming platforms.