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Thursday, April 17, 2025

Amazon Takes Lead In Talks for NFL Media Stake

  • The league is seeking investment partners for NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and NFL.com.
  • Negotiations mark a rare opportunity for an outsider to buy a piece of the NFL.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Amazon has emerged as the frontrunner to buy a minority stake in the NFL’s media properties, sources tell Front Office Sports.

The tech giant is in talks with the country’s richest sports league about acquiring up to a 49% stake in NFL Network, RedZone and NFL.com, said sources. The $10 billion league hired Goldman Sachs Group in June to negotiate a deal to sell a chunk of NFL Media.

But the deal with Amazon isn’t done and a last-minute snag could push a final agreement back by several months, warned one source.

If successful, the agreement would mark a large jump in the growing business relationship between Amazon and the NFL.

  • Starting in 2022, Amazon Prime Video will become the first streaming service to control an exclusive package of NFL games, paying $1 billion a year for the rights to “Thursday Night  Football.”
  • Amazon’s foray into NFL broadcast rights began in 2017 when it became the streaming home of “Thursday Night Football,” but those games were also broadcast on Fox and NFL Network.
  • The league’s Next Gen Stats have relied on Amazon Web Services since 2015.

The NFL and Amazon both declined to comment.

With annual revenue of $386 billion, Amazon is also bidding for the “Sunday Ticket” package against Disney, ViacomCBS, Apple and others, said sources. Bidding for Sunday Ticket could reach $2 billion to $3 billion a year.

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