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With a new NFL media rights deal potentially on the horizon, new outside bidders looking in are likely to make their pitch to be brought into the football family.
To do that, the offers have to be quite lucrative.
The NFL reportedly had a fall period to complete a new media rights deal, but John Ourand of the Puck reported earlier this month that it is now believed the league will have it done by Week 1 in September. The league technically can’t exit the current media rights deals until after the 2029 season, but there is expected to be no resistance to getting something new done with its partners.
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Shawne Merriman attends the Resorts World Las Vegas Grand Opening on June 24, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ryan Steffy/Getty Images for Resorts World Las Vegas)
With additional media partners potentially coming into the fold in this potential new deal, as well as incumbents like FOX, CBS and NBC, the NFL should see more than its roughly $10 billion a year.
But one former NFL Pro Bowler believes that these streaming services, which are trying to leapfrog each other to acquire rights to the most profitable professional sports league in the United States, will have to find ways to join forces.
“There are all kinds of FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) services and all different ways of distribution,” former NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman said on “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich.” “The NFL is working heavily in their FAST channels, distributing to Pluto and Amazon Freevee, YouTube. This thing is not going to stop and what’s going to happen is it’s going to be a bidding war. And what we’re going to see over time because the NFL rights are going to be so expensive is bundling.
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“These networks are going to come together — YouTube with a TikTok. There’s got to be a lot of that because these NFL rights are going to be so damn expensive that these streaming services are going to have to figure it out.”
If that happens, the question becomes, how does it affect the NFL consumer?
The FCC said last month it would seek public comment on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services, which include the other major sports leagues in the country like the NBA, MLB and more. Specifically for the NFL, to catch every ounce of action during the 2025 season, fans would have to pay at least $575, with some spending nearly $800.
Shawne Merriman #56 of the San Diego Chargers walks the sidelines during the game against the Seattle Seahawks on August 15, 2009 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
NFL Sunday Ticket new subscribers had to pay $276 for the season, but existing customers with a YouTube TV membership had to pay over $378. Without a YouTube TV membership, it was $480. After that, primetime slots went to various streaming platforms like Netflix ($7.99 for cheapest subscription), ESPN’s new live sports-only streaming service ($29.99), and Peacock’s “Premium” membership ($10.99) to watch “Sunday Night Football.”
In total for streaming, ESPN was $179.94, Peacock was $54.95, Amazon Prime Video was $35.96, and NFL+ was $20.97. Add it all up for new Sunday Ticket subscribers, and the 2025 NFL season cost to those fans was $575.81. If you were an existing Sunday Ticket subscriber without YouTube TV, it cost $779.81.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell noted that negotiations on a new media rights deal will not take place until the NFL Players’ Association votes in a new CEO.
And to end with food for thought: Ourand also noted in a newsletter last month that streamers will get the biggest piece of the NFL media rights pie.
Shawne Merriman Joins Warner Bros. Pictures And Gravity Pictures Premiere of ‘The Meg’ at TCL Chinese Theater IMAX on August 6, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
“This model will likely include five games each, including four international games that the league took back from NFL Network and the two Christmas Day games that Netflix currently has for one more year,” Ourand wrote.
As Merriman put it, “The NFL is smart. They want to make the most money possible.”
