NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will not testify before Congress amid scrutiny of past testimonies

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says fans are being forced to juggle costly subscriptions just to follow football, while regulators review whether leagues are stretching their special legal treatment beyond what lawmakers originally intended.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, invited earlier this week to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing that will examine whether the Sports Broadcasting Act has been used "to harm consumers," is declining the invitation.

And that's probably a wise choice by the commissioner given his past history testifying before Congress.

ROGER GOODELL ASKED TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS ON NFL ANTITRUST EXEMPTION

Goodell declined the invitation to appear at the June 10 hearing "due to ongoing litigation related to the topic of the hearing," NFL general counsel Ted Ullyot wrote in a letter Wednesday to Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)Jim Jordan, (R-Ohio).

The ongoing litigation Ullyot was referring to is likely the NFL's Sunday Ticket antitrust case, which remains in post-trial and appellate proceedings.

All of this is tied to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 that provides limited antitrust exemption for the collective sale of over-the-air broadcast rights. The SBA does not clearly protect cable, satellite, streaming or subscription products, the rising cost of which has incited consumer complaints and government scrutiny.

According to the Associated Press, Ullyot repeated in his letter the well-chronicled NFL narrative that 87 percent of its games will be available over the air this season, and that every game in the competing teams' home markets is on broadcast television.

WATCHING THE NFL WILL COST MORE, REQUIRE MORE STREAMING SERVICES THAN EVER THIS SEASON

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