Lawsuit against NFL and DirecTV's 'Sunday Ticket' worth watching for football fans everywhere

It has long been known the Pittsburgh Steelers have the broadest fan base of any team in the NFL. With fans stretching the globe, Steelers Nation no longer just resides in the 412 area code. Rather, you have fans from coast-to-coast, as well as overseas.

With such a following, fans of the black and gold (or any NFL team) should follow the lawsuit which was filed in California against the NFL and DirecTV's premium package titled "NFL Sunday Ticket".

Per ABC News, "The lawsuit filed this week in federal court in California challenges DirecTV's deal with the league for "NFL Sunday Ticket," which gives subscribers nationwide live broadcasts of some Sunday games in other cities. Those games are available to the subscribers only through DirecTV."

The NFL is the only professional organization which doesn't allow their premium channels to be viewed on any number of cable distributors. The NHL's package "Center Ice", MLB's "Extra Innings" and NBA's "League Pass" can all be purchased through DirecTV, Dish Network and any other local cable entity.

The reason football fans should be following this story is if you are like me and have DirecTV simply for the "NFL Sunday Ticket" package, you may have the flexibility to purchase the package through other, more cost effective, avenues. If the lawsuit is processed and ruled to be a monopoly, it could open up more than just a new cable provider being able to show Steelers games in Florida, but could allow fans to stream games on their mobile devices and possibly allow packages for specific teams, rather than the entire league.

When the 'Sunday Ticket' package costs nearly $300 dollars per season, football fans everywhere could be jumping for joy if a change is on the horizon.