President Trump criticized the rising costs for regular fans to watch NFL games as his Department of Justice investigates potential anti-competitive pricing.
The president revealed his thoughts during an interview with Full Measure on Sunday, adding that the package costs of watching a season of NFL could “ruin the game” for regular, working-class fans.
“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,” the president said.
While Trump did not know if the government would put a stop to it, he admitted, “I don’t like it.”
“They’re making a lot of money, they could make a little bit less and they could let the people see,” Trump said.
Prices to watch NFL games increased last year after the league allowed for a “split between traditional networks and deals with streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, which has spurred criticism from fans over the challenge and cost of navigating so many platforms,” per the New York Times, which also found that a whole season of NFL was costing upwards of $600 last year.
In April, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the DoJ had opened an investigation into the NFL’s media deal for potential anti-competitive pricing. In a statement, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended the league’s broadcast agreements.
“It’s the most accessible game out there, and most accessible in any league,” Goodell said. “Over 87 percent of our games go on free television, every single one of our games, the two participating teams, it’s in their home market.
“We go to platforms that are new. We went to ESPN back in the 80s. That has been a great move for our fans and has developed new ways to engage with the NFL, but we’ve been surviving and thriving on the basis of being available to the broadest audience,” he added.
Inquiries into the NFL’s alleged anti-competitive pricing has been mostly bipartisan, with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, submitting “a letter requesting that the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission review antitrust exceptions given to the NFL,” and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) saying “she plans to introduce legislation aimed at decreasing TV costs and blackouts for sports fans,” per the New York Times.