Analyst claims NFL Sunday Ticket case could cost league $13,000,000,000 it earned across all 32 teams in 2023

The NFL has a revenue stream as big as any entertainment company in the United States. From the Miami Dolphins to the Seattle Seahawks, every team in between is a winner on the financial front. It would take a gargantuan event to cost the league the equivalent of its entire earnings for a season. However, that is what one analyst has declared is at stake, framing it in an eye-opening way.

Speaking on Tuesday's edition of "Pro Football Talk," NFL analyst Mike Florio compared the league's earnings for 2023 to its ongoing $14 billion NFL Sunday Ticket lawsuit.

"This supplemental revenue sharing I think, is national revenue gets bigger and bigger," Florio said. "The local revenue subsides in overall relevance. But still the national side, according to Sportico, is 13 billion – less than, less than – the 14 billion the NFL is ultimately going to have to pay if it loses in the Sunday ticket case.

"So it gives you an idea, puts in perspective. What we're talking about here. We're talking about more than one year of national revenue that is shared by the 32 teams, basically TV money and other related money that comes through the doors and is shared by all 32 teams."

Also, the potential $14 billion bill sets up the amount to run into 2022 earnings as well. The NFL earned $13 billion in national revenue in 2023, and if it were to give up every penny of that, it would still need to use a billion dollars from the same season that saw Jalen Hurts lose to Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl.

As Sunday Ticket lawsuit looms, NFL's revenue distribution doubles over past decade

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The league might potentially have a massive bill in the mail, but it has a tsunami of income to throw at it. Sportico reported Monday that over the last decade, national revenue distribution per team has doubled. In 2023, distributions given to all 32 teams, from the Seattle Seahawks to the Miami Dolphins, totaled $404 million. In 2013, they totaled $188 million.

The publication calculated that the payments were up 115% over the past decade. It was also noted that they could nearly double again over the next decade.

As such, the league might need to sacrifice the equivalent of one such yearly disbursement to pay the lawsuit if it loses. However, it is on track to replace the losses the following season and resume its growth one season after that. The question is whether Patrick Mahomes' league has $14 billion in reserves ready to be paid if it comes to it.

If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Pro Football Talk" and H/T Sportskeeda.