The DOJ is investigating the NFL’s online streaming model
By Hannah Rabinowitz, Liam Reilly, Jill Martin, CNN
(CNN) — The Justice Department is investigating whether the National Football League is forcing viewers to pay too much in subscription fees, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The full scope of the investigation, run by the department’s Antitrust Division, was not immediately clear.
Complaints about the NFL’s allegedly anticompetitive tactics were raised in a letter from Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, to the Justice Department last month, in which he said that football fans were made to spend “almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions” to watch games this past season.
Lee added that fans also had to subscribe to multiple streaming services as well as “high-speed internet in addition to a traditional cable or satellite bundle.”
“Much has changed in sports broadcasting since 1961, raising new questions about the NFL’s antitrust exemption. I’m glad the DOJ is tackling this important issue, as I urged them to do last month, and I look forward to hearing the results,” Lee said in a statement today.
Distributors have largely vied for pieces of sports media by carving up those rights among streaming platforms.
In 2026, NFL games can be found across 10 streaming platforms, from Prime Video and Netflix to Peacock and Paramount+. Fans of other sports leagues — like MLB, NHL and the NBA — similarly have to shell out for multiple streaming platforms if they want to maximize game viewing.
Sports fans have shown they are willing to spend on platforms, and streamers have added exclusive games and post-season content to incentivize consumers to stay.
The NFL, which is currently renegotiating its rights with broadcasters, regularly draws higher viewership than other leagues, making it appealing for networks but also giving the league enormous leverage in negotiations.
Beyond football, a DOJ probe that upends how the NFL and streamers do business could bleed into other sports, changing how exclusive streaming and bundling work in the US.
The investigation was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The NFL said in a statement that the league’s “media distribution model is the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry.”
“With over 87% of our games on free, broadcast television, including 100% of games in the markets of the competing teams, the NFL has for decades put our fans front and center in how we distribute our content. 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 added.
CBS, Fox, NBC and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment. Disney declined to comment.
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