Goodell refuses – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has declined an invitation to testify before the House Judiciary Committee next week, citing ongoing litigation tied to the issue. The decision lands as Donald Trump attacks the league over paywalled streaming access and as the J
Roger Goodell turned down an invitation to testify before Congress next week, and the reason matters: the NFL says there is ongoing litigation tied to the subject of the hearing.
The NFL Commissioner’s refusal comes as pressure on the league is rising from multiple directions. President Donald Trump has launched a blistering attack on the NFL. claiming it is “killing the golden goose. ” adding that it is “tough” when people who love football “don’t make enough money to go and pay for this.” Trump said. “there’s something very sad when they take football away from many. many people. Very sad. I don’t like it.”.
Goodell’s team declined the chance to appear at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on June 10, telling the committee chairman, Republican congressman Jim Jordan, that it was “due to ongoing litigation related to the topic of the hearing.”
The hearing is centered on the NFL’s media rights and the growing role of paywalled streaming services. The NFL’s games are carried on free-to-air networks including CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC. At the same time, Netflix has been expanding its portfolio, while Amazon Prime Video and Peacock also hold rights.
Jordan is among several elected officials who have raised concerns about the prices fans must pay to watch NFL games. The dispute isn’t just about where games are shown; it also touches on whether the NFL’s streaming arrangements are compliant with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.
That law granted the league a limited antitrust exemption. but questions have been raised about whether the exemption still applies once games move beyond the kind of “broadcast networks” the act covers. The law applies only to broadcast networks. and courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other media. including cable. satellite and streaming. There has been bipartisan sentiment in favor of updating the law.
The timing of the congressional scrutiny overlaps with the Justice Department’s attention. This spring, the Justice Department began investigating the NFL for potential anticompetitive practices related to its broadcast deals.
In the letter sent to Jordan, the NFL’s general counsel, Ted Ullyot, laid out the league’s case. He said 87 per cent of the NFL’s games will be available over the air this season. and that every game in the competing teams’ home markets is on broadcast television. Ullyot also pointed to shifts in how often games appear on cable. saying the increased number of games on streaming services has corresponded with a slight drop in games shown on cable.
Ullyot wrote that the decision to license more games to widely adopted streaming services is “simply a reflection that those platforms now offer significantly more reach than the current pay TV ecosystem and that broadcast television remains the foundation of our media distribution.”
The NFL also sent another letter to Jordan. signed by 21 members of Congress. urging caution with any changes to the broadcasting law. Ullyot’s letter said the SBA helps maintain competitive balance because it supports “broad media distribution. substantial revenue sharing among the clubs. and a collectively bargained salary cap.”.
That letter warned that if the league were not to handle media distribution as it has since the passage of the SBA, “the result would be to harm NFL fans through increased cost and confusion and the undermining of the competitive balance that makes NFL games so exciting.”
As the June 10 hearing approaches, the NFL’s refusal to send its top executive signals how tightly the league is trying to keep its hands away from congressional pressure—especially while the Justice Department investigation is underway and litigation is cited as the reason Goodell will not testify.
NFL Roger Goodell Jim Jordan House Judiciary Committee Justice Department TV deals Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 streaming rights Netflix Amazon Prime Video Peacock CBS NBC FOX ABC paywalled streaming