The price of DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket package will increase by a little more than 4 percent in 2018.
According to figures on the company's web site, the satellite provider has priced the basic package at $293.94 for the upcoming season, up from $281.94 a year ago. The max package, which includes the popular Red Zone channel, will cost $395.94 — a 4.5 percent increase from 2017.
DirecTV implemented similar price increases prior to last season, raising the cost of the basic package by 4.2 percent and the max package by 4.8 percent. Nevertheless, news of the increase was met with frustration on social media, with some fans threatening to cancel their subscription to the package.
The price increase comes after a season in which some fans requested refunds for their Sunday Ticket packages in response to some players protesting during the national anthem, which participants have described as a means of drawing attention to racial inequality and social injustice in the United States.
While DirecTV has not disclosed how many of its customers subscribe to Sunday Ticket, Bloomberg has estimated that the company has as many as 2.08 million subscriptions. The company's current deal with the NFL is worth $1.5 billion annually and will run through the 2022 season.
Contributing: A.J. Perez, Mike Snider
Contact: Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad
