Watching every NFL game last season legally cost American fans over a thousand dollars.
The DOJ opened a formal antitrust probe into the NFL over the streaming deals that made it happen.
Those deals were cut with Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube – and all three just launched a Washington lobbying operation to make sure Congress never unwinds them.
Netflix Amazon and YouTube Spent Billions Putting NFL Games Behind a Paywall
Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube launched a new Washington lobbying coalition last week called the Streaming Access and Choice Alliance – SACA.
It's led by TechNet, a tech-industry trade group, and its stated mission is promoting "high-quality and high-value entertainment experiences for consumers."
Mike Ward, TechNet's senior VP of federal policy, introduced the group with language designed to sound like consumer advocacy.
"Americans want more content choices and flexibility in how and where they watch their favorite programming," Ward said.
What Ward left out is that Americans used to watch those games for free – and these three companies are the reason they cannot anymore.
Watching every NFL game during the 2025 season required subscriptions to Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube's Sunday Ticket, Peacock, and ESPN Unlimited – a minimum of $575 to nearly $800, and up to $1,500 once internet costs are factored in.
In May, Trump put it in terms that every football fan understands.
"You have people that live for Sunday," he told Full Measure. "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."
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 Was Written So Fans Could Watch for Free
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 gave professional sports leagues an antitrust exemption to pool and sell their broadcast rights collectively – on the condition that Americans could watch games for free on over-the-air television.
Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube dismantled that arrangement one billion-dollar check at a time.
Amazon is paying the NFL $1 billion per season for exclusive Thursday Night Football rights through 2033, and YouTube locked up NFL Sunday Ticket through 2029 at roughly $2 billion a year. Netflix grabbed Christmas Day games and expanded to five NFL contests in 2026 alone.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr – a Trump appointee – addressed it directly on Fox News Digital. "In the last couple of years, we've seen a movement of a significant number of games behind paywalls," Carr said. "I think that's been really frustrating for so many consumers."
A Fox News poll found that 72 percent of sports fans believe major sporting events should stay free on broadcast television.
Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee, held a formal hearing on the Sports Broadcasting Act in June, and his committee's interim staff report called it "a special-interest antitrust exemption gone awry."
Sen. Mike Lee wrote to the DOJ and FTC demanding they investigate whether the exemption even applies when leagues sell rights to streaming platforms rather than broadcast TV.
The DOJ launched a formal antitrust investigation into the NFL's distribution model in April. The FCC opened a public comment period in February. SACA launched the week after the 2026 NFL season kicked off.
DOJ and FCC Were Closing In on the NFL Streaming Paywall and Then This Happened
Congress, the DOJ, the FCC, and the White House were all moving toward the same target when Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube decided to get ahead of it.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos – owner of the Washington Post – runs a company paying the NFL $1 billion a year for exclusive streaming rights. Google's YouTube division controls Sunday Ticket. Netflix raised its standard plan to $19.99 a month and then added holiday NFL games as further justification for the price.
None of those companies came to Washington because they care about sports fans.
The Trump DOJ is investigating the NFL's distribution model. FCC Chairman Carr – whose boss told the league it was killing the golden goose – is demanding answers. Republican members of Congress labeled the arrangement an illegal special-interest carve-out in an official committee report.
Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube looked at all of that and decided to hire lobbyists.
Sixty-five years ago, Congress wrote a law to make sure every American could watch their team for free.
These three companies just built a Washington operation to make sure that law never applies to them.
Sources:
- Paul Bois, "Netflix, Amazon, YouTube Form D.C. Lobbying Group as Lawmakers Scrutinize Sports Streaming Prices," Breitbart, September 19, 2026.
- "FCC Review of Sports Broadcasting Rules Draws Thousands of Comments amid Streaming Backlash," Fox News, March 29, 2026.
- "Trump Rips NFL Streaming Costs: 'Could Be Killing the Golden Goose,'" Front Office Sports, May 10, 2026.
- "FCC Chairman Questions NFL's Antitrust Protection as League Shifts to Streaming Services," Fox News, 2026.
- Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, "Rep. Fitzgerald Chairs Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on Sports Broadcasting Act," fitzgerald.house.gov, June 2026.
- "Congress Examines Pro Sports on Streaming Platforms, Questions Need for Antitrust Exemptions," Holland & Knight, July 1, 2026.
