The NFL is currently in under investigation by the Department of Justice over whether its media distribution practices violate antitrust law. The investigation is related to the league progressively putting more and more games behind a paywall on streaming services. Now, United States President Donald Trump is weighing in on the matter.
During a recent interview with Full Measure, Trump was asked if he thinks the NFL is engaged in “price gouging” by putting games on paid platforms. Trump stopped short of agreeing, he did make it clear that he is not a fan of the move, and issued a pretty clear warning to the NFL about what it could mean for the league if it becomes more difficult for people to watch games.
“It’s tough,” Trump said during the interview. “You’ve got people that love football. They’re great people. They don’t make enough money to go and pay this. It’s tough. And they could be killing the golden goose.”
“They have to be careful because, you know, others have tried this, and all of a sudden you don’t have a sport anymore,” Trump warned. “There’s something very sad when they take football away from many, many people. Very sad. I don’t like it.”
Trump was asked whether or not he believed the government would intervene on the matter. While he didn’t offer a clear answer, he did make it clear that he does not think what the NFL is doing is in the best interest of its fans.
“I don’t know,” Trump said. “But I don’t like it. I don’t like it. They’re making a lot of money. They could make a little bit less. They could let the people see. You have people that live for Sunday. They live — they can’t think about anything else, and then all of a sudden, they’re gonna have to pay $1,000 a game. It’s crazy. So, I’m not happy about it.”
It’s worth noting that Trump almost certainly misspoke – nobody is paying $1,000 a game, but research has found that it does cost nearly $1,000 per season to watch all of the games across the league.
It’s not clear whether or not Trump or the federal government is going to do anything about it, but it is clear that the president is not a fan of the league’s media distribution practices and he does not think that the current state of things benefits the consumer or the league in the long run.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.