A federal appeals court has revived the jury’s antitrust verdict in the long-running NFL “Sunday Ticket” litigation, putting one of the most closely watched sports-antitrust battles back on center stage. The decision restores significant leverage to the subscriber plaintiffs after the trial court had set aside the jury’s damages award, and it reopens the prospect of massive exposure tied to the league’s out-of-market game package.

The litigation challenges the NFL’s distribution model for Sunday Ticket, alleging that the league and its member teams unlawfully restricted competition and inflated prices for consumers and commercial subscribers.