House Judiciary Committee Calls on Roger Goodell to Discuss the Sports Broadcasting Act

The House Judiciary Committee is intensifying its scrutiny of the NFL's broadcast antitrust exemption established by the Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) of 1961. According to Ross Dellenger from Yahoo Sports, the committee has scheduled a hearing for June 10, focused on the evolution of sports distribution since the SBA's inception, and has invited NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to provide testimony.

Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) highlighted the hearing's objectives in a letter to Goodell dated June 1, 2026. "This hearing will delve into how the distribution of professional sports has changed over the past 65 years," he stated. The committee is particularly interested in assessing whether the antitrust exemption has been misused by professional sports leagues to the detriment of consumers and if legislative action is necessary to rectify any negative impacts. Goodell has been asked to prepare a brief opening statement and respond to inquiries from committee members.

The Judiciary Committee had previously notified Goodell in August 2025 of its ongoing examination into the SBA. Two critical questions have arisen regarding the exemption: whether the NFL's sale of broadcasting packages to streaming services contravenes the exemption's stipulations, and whether the exemption itself should be abolished.

The implications for the NFL are significant. This exemption enables the league to bundle broadcasting rights collectively, which helps maintain revenue parity among teams. Without it, individual franchises would negotiate their own broadcasting deals, likely leading to vast income disparities between popular teams, like the Dallas Cowboys, and those with less national exposure, potentially destabilizing the salary cap and fragmenting the league into two separate entities.