A recent lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York is challenging the NFL’s leaguewide ban of the newest social media site, Bluesky.
NFL fans Patrick Brown and Collin Vincent, just two of the nearly 28 million users of the Microsoft-owned site, filed the suit claiming that the ban violates Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, as the league encourages its members to participate in a “group boycott.”[i] However, some wonder if the ban is a ploy by the league to add another valuable revenue stream.[ii]
The lawsuit comes on the heels of the New England Patriots briefly creating a Bluesky account, but then being told by league officials to take it down.[iii] Fred Kirsch, Vice President of Content for Kraft Sports & Entertainment, stated that the league asked the Patriots to take down the account as BlueSky was not an “approved social media platform for the NFL,” finishing the statement by saying “[w]henever the league gives us the green light, we’ll get back on Bluesky.”[iv]
Brown, a Bears fan, and Vincent, a Seahawks fan, title themselves as among the group of “Twitter refugees” that have moved away from the social media site due to the controversial management of Elon Musk.[v] Concerned about the antitrust issues the ban causes, the NFL fans argue that “[A]s consumers, they [fans] should be free to decide that they do not want to do business with a particular outlet or brand.”[vi] Additionally, the lawsuit cites to other examples from the NFL’s history that involved antitrust issues, including the move of the Oakland Raiders to Los Angeles in the 1980s, the 2010 Supreme Court case American Needle v. NFL Properties, and the recent litigation involving the NFL Sunday Ticket television package.[vii]
The likelihood of a win for the NFL fans seems low, specifically because the NFL has numerous deals, including with X, TikTok, and YouTube, to distribute NFL news and highlights.[viii] Additionally, some argue that the NFL could point out that, on top of the numerous content options, there is no inherent right to follow an NFL team.[ix] However, some are pointing to ulterior motives as to why the NFL is keeping its teams off the new social media site.
As of this filing of the lawsuit, the only leagues that had Bluesky accounts were the NWLS and the PWHL, with the MLB and the NBA joining within the last few days.[x] Deals like the ones the NFL has with social media sites, including X, generally include licensing fees, ad dollar splits, and/or marketing promises that create various revenue streams for the league and its members.[xi] It could be more of a waiting game, one the NFL is willing to play, to further assess the viability of Bluesky, all while increasing the value of having the NFL take the leap to the new platform.[xii]
[i] https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25521943-nfl-bluesky-lawsuit/
[ii] https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/01/30/Football/nfl-bluesky-delay-issues/
[iii] https://frontofficesports.com/nfl-told-patriots-take-down-bluesky-account/
[iv] Id.
[v] https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25521943-nfl-bluesky-lawsuit/
[vi] https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/lawsuit-not-allowing-teams-bluesky.html
[vii] https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25521943-nfl-bluesky-lawsuit/
[viii] https://www.sportico.com/law/analysis/2025/nfl-bluesky-antitrust-lawsuit-1234827954/
[ix] Id.
[x] https://www.sportspro.com/news/nba-mlb-nfl-bluesky-launch-account-february-2025/
[xi] https://www.sportico.com/business/tech/2025/nfl-bluesky-patriots-platforms-x-reddit-ban-alternatives-1234825016/
[xii] https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/01/30/Football/nfl-bluesky-delay-issues/
Image Credit: USAToday
Leave a Reply