NBC Sports pays the least and gets the most under the NFL’s current TV deals. 

Now, NBC may have to pay the biggest rights increase to retain “Sunday Night Football,” sources tell Front Office Sports.

Under rights deals signed nearly a decade ago, NBC pays only $950 million a year for SNF. Price tags for the other networks:

• ESPN shells out $2 billion annually for “Monday Night Football.” 
• Fox Sports and CBS Sports pay $1.1 billion and $1 billion yearly for their respective Sunday afternoon game packages.
• Fox pays $650 million a year for non-exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football,” which it shares with NFL Network and Amazon Prime/Twitch. 

ESPN’s deal expires this year, while the others’ last through the 2022 season.

Rich Greenfield, media analyst at LightShed Partners predicted NBC’s costs will more than double. “It is the most absurdly underpriced package that the NFL has.”

The network’s SNF franchise has ranked as the No. 1 TV show in prime-time for a record 10 years in a row. The pregame “Football Night in America” has reigned as the most-watched studio show for 15 straight years. NBC’s 2015 telecast of Super Bowl XLIX was the most-watched show in U.S. TV history, averaging 114.4 million viewers.

After two straight seasons of 5% increases, the NFL’s average game viewership dropped 8% during the 2020 season. This month’s Super Bowl drew the game’s lowest TV-only audience in 15 years.

The league wants its new broadcast deals in place by the beginning of its new year on March 17.

Puma posted strong fourth-quarter earnings after a slow start to its year.

The German sportswear manufacturer increased its sales by 9.1% in Q4, bringing revenue to $1.85 billion. Earnings per share jumped to $0.19 from $0.15 last year.

Puma has prioritized broadening the brand’s reach in recent years. 

In 2018, Puma named business mogul and music icon Jay-Z as its creative director and has attracted a slew of new consumers and endorsers in the time since.

Last October, Puma signed NBA rookie LaMelo Ball to a deal reportedly worth $100 million. It also has NBA players Deandre Ayton, DeMarcus Cousins, and Marcus Smart locked into deals.

In November, the company partnered with Japan-based Nintendo for a collection of “Super Mario”-inspired shoes to celebrate the game’s 35th anniversary. Puma saw sales in Asia increase by 11.5% during Q4.

Other highlights from the quarter:

• Puma athlete Lewis Hamilton won his seventh Formula 1 World Champion title.
• Neymar Jr. launched a signature Puma soccer cleat.
• Pop star Dua Lipa joined the brand as an ambassador for its women’s business.

Sales still dropped by 1.4% for the full year due to the impact of the pandemic.

“I am very happy that we managed to end a very difficult 2020 with — considering the circumstances — a good fourth quarter,” said PUMA CEO Bjørn Gulden. “I am convinced that 2021 will be a better year for us than 2020.”

HP is putting up big money to invest in video games.

The tech company known for its PCs and printers announced Wednesday that it intends to acquire HyperX for $425 million, subject to working capital and other adjustments. 

HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technologies, makes headsets, keyboards, USB microphones, and other accessories. Kingston will keep the DRAM, flash and SSD products.

“HyperX products are designed to meet the most rigorous demands of all gamers — from casual to the most hardcore,” said John Tu, co-founder and CEO of Kingston. 

Prior to the HyperX acquisition, HP’s main contribution to the space came from its OMEN and Pavilion gaming laptops.

“Gaming is a significant growth area in the PC business,” Alex Cho, president of HP’s personal systems division told MarketWatch. “It’s not just cyclical but a secular change.”

The PC gaming industry is expected to grow to $39.5 billion by 2022, up from $36.9 billion last year.

HP reports its first-quarter earnings on Thursday. The HyperX deal is expected to close in the second quarter.