Frankly, I don't see what their point is. As I read the Constitution, I see no right to watch NFL games and it's a sad commentary when US Senators who should have better things to do get tied up in this crap.
BTW. The beef here is only about those who don't want to pay the additional price for a product. You can get the NFL network on cable if you pay the additional the cable company demands. The NFL wants it on the basic package (and it is basic on Dish Network). It's the cable companies who want the extra bucks, not the NFL.
That's not the whole story. NFL charges the cable companies for the NFL network, but then expects the cable companies to offer it to viewers for free. Did you know NFL is demanding about 70 cents per household for the service? That's incredibly high, I believe it's more than CNN (for example). (Disclaimer - I'm pulling that from memory so I'm not certain it's higher than CNN, but I do know that the amount NFL wants for its network is one of the main points of contention in the debate).
On the NFL's terms, the network benefits only the NFL.. not the cable companies. The only possible benefit cable could get is if it helped them sell their service, but there is only a seasonal demand for football.. and for some people, myself not included (I love football), there is no demand at all - any time of the year. ;)