The National Football League (NFL) is preparing to negotiate its next set of highly-profitable media rights contracts. In the words of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, that may be as early as 2026. This action comes as a reaction to the league’s current media rights contracts coming due. Those agreements include an opt-out clause that activates at the conclusion of the 2028 season. Goodell has expressed optimism about beginning those negotiations sooner than anticipated. He particularly focused on the new opportunity spaces for media partnerships and the enormous revenue potential they hold.
During an interview with CNBC, Goodell acknowledged that the NFL is “leaving money on the table” compared to other recent sports media deals. That is a testament to the league’s immense popularity, and it shines through. Indeed, 72 of the top 100 television broadcasts last year were NFL contests, though that figure was down from 93 the year before. This popularity underscores the NFL’s bargaining power in future negotiations, which could potentially add billions of dollars to the league’s revenue.
The reason that we were so passionate about the option is the landscape has fundamentally shifted. It just could be much longer long-term deal with a minor advantage of actually having that stability and security of it. The fact is, everything moves in the blink of an eye. What you really want, what we all need, is the flexibility to pivot on the fly. I actually believe those options are going to provide us with a tremendous amount of flexibility to be able to maybe go even earlier,” Goodell said.
The NFL Players Association is also being led by an interim replacement, the impact of which should not be underestimated as discussions heat up over new media rights agreements. An 18th week of regular-season play may soon be upon us. This looming new column could make for messy, expedited renegotiations as the league tries to have its cake with an expanded schedule and eat it too with sweet media deals.
Goodell is confident that current relationships with media partners will help ensure continued conversations about future deals. And, you know, I think our partners would want to sit down and talk to us at any time, and we continue to dialogue with them. I really appreciate that opportunity,” he said, highlighting the give-and-take spirit collaborative nature of these negotiations.
In the past five years, the average value of an NFL franchise has almost tripled. It has grown to a record $7.65 billion—an 18% increase over last year. This sudden spike in valuations is indicative of tremendous overall league investor confidence and financial success. A successful renegotiation of new media rights agreements would add to these valuations and give teams even more to invest in growth.
The NFL’s current broadcasting strategy includes a pending deal with ESPN that would allow the league to acquire a 10% stake in the network. This partnership is a microcosm of a wave crashing over the sports media landscape, where leagues are attempting to exert more control over their distribution channels. A new media rights deal would give all signatories and the NFL especially more leverage and revenue-sharing windfalls.
As the consolidation of sports media keeps changing the game, the NFL finds itself at a key crossroads. Goodell’s vision for how the league plans to adapt to the quickly evolving media landscape becomes clear. It clears the path for renegotiating existing media rights agreements early.