• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

Sources: NFL ‘Virtual Lock’ to Opt Out of Media-Rights Deals

The NFL is already the most popular programming in all of U.S. television, and an early opt-out from its current media rights would allow the pursuit of even greater riches. 

Oct 20, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; General view of a television camera operator during the game between the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

PALM BEACH, Fla. — The National Football League hasn’t formally decided whether to opt out of its domestic media rights contracts four years early, but it’s all but certain to happen as data continues to come in, strongly bolstering its case to do so. 

The NFL’s current rights deals with Amazon, CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC run through the 2033 season, but the league has opt-out provisions with most of them that allow it to exit instead after the 2029 season, and do so with ESPN a year later. Before Super Bowl LIX last month, commissioner Roger Goodell said the opt-outs were “incredibly valuable,” and that their deals are “undervalued” given the NFL’s status as by far the most popular programming in all of U.S. television, regardless of genre. 

Since then, the Super Bowl itself became the most-watched program ever on U.S. television, and Major League Baseball is parting from ESPN and is now pursuing even greater riches for those national rights. Those data points, plus other major sports rights deals for entities such as the National Basketball Association and College Football Playoff add support for the league’s position. 

Sources said the opt-outs have become a virtual lock, even if NFL EVP and chief media and business officer Brian Rolapp isn’t confirming it. 

“All that data is positive for the value of sports media in general, and for the NFL specifically,” Rolapp said in response to a Front Office Sports question about the impact of recent factors such as the Super Bowl LIX viewership. “I don’t think it’s a mystery that as media fragments, there are very few programming options that aggregate large audiences. Sports are at the top there, and the NFL is at the top of that. 

“How we think about the opt-outs, we haven’t made any decisions, but they are there because in a media environment that is changing rapidly, we want to make sure we have the flexibility to make any, all, or no changes at all. We continue to monitor the landscape and we continue to do the thinking that would be necessary as we go forward,” he said. 

The league’s rights holders, of course, are also well aware of these forthcoming opt-outs.

“The NFL is our largest partnership. They have an incredible product, and we’ve had a deep relationship with them for a very long time,” Fox executive chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch said last month at a Morgan Stanley conference. “So, we see this ‘amend and extend’ provision, which is still some years out, as an opportunity for us to, frankly, deepen our relationship with the NFL.”

Getting Flexible on Flexing

NFL team owners, meanwhile, approved an extension of flexible scheduling rules to allow Sunday games to be moved to Amazon’s Thursday Night Football on a permanent basis with 21 days’ notice. 

Previously, the shifts were available with 28 days’ notice, but the reduced window gives the league additional time to optimize broadcast placements. It also further highlights the Amazon showcase as the streaming property continues to draw audiences more like its linear counterparts. Other standard rules around flexible scheduling will continue to apply, and league officials promised a careful application of the more liberalized approach. 

The league also acknowledged that a shift from a Sunday afternoon game to Thursday is far more disruptive, particularly for attending fans, than simply going from Sunday afternoon to prime time on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

“We’re going to be very judicious when and how we do this, but in those instances where it arises, it’s very valuable to us,” said NFL Media EVP and COO Hans Schroeder.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Jan 17, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Skylar Diggins-Smith (4) of the Lunar Owls drives toward the basket during the first half of the game against the Mist of the Unrivaled women’s professional 3v3 basketball league at Wayfair Arena.

Unrivaled Has Signed Nearly 90% of 2026 Roster, Salaries to Increase

Cofounder Alex Bazzell confirmed the average salary will increase next season.
Apr 2, 2023; Inglewood, CA, USA; Brock Lesnar during Wrestlemania Night 2 at SoFi Stadium.

Lesnar Returns to WWE Months After Being Named in McMahon Suit

It was Lesnar’s first WWE appearance since 2023.
Apr 14, 2025; New York, New York, USA; WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert talks to the media before the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed at Hudson Yards.
exclusive

Pagliuca Offer to Buy Sun Was Agreed to in July, Never Presented..

The exclusivity window expired, allowing for competing offers including Marc Lasry’s.
Sep 1, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Sep 1, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan presents Scottie Scheffler the FedEx Cup after winning the TOUR Championship golf tournament.

Scottie Scheffler Tops New FedEx Cup Bonus List With $18M Payday

The PGA Tour’s top 10 players are getting paid after the regular season.

Featured Today

Inked Under Anesthesia: Athletes Getting $50,000 Tattoos

High-end studios, elite artist teams, and hours under anesthesia.
Coco Gauff at New York Liberty
August 2, 2025

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.
Las Vegas sign
July 29, 2025

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.

NFL’s Hall of Fame Game Draws 6.9M TV Viewers, Highest Since 2021

The Lions and Chargers played this year’s game in Canton, Ohio.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) celebrates winning Sunday, July 27, 2025, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
July 30, 2025

Amazon, TNT Post Near-Identical NASCAR Ratings in Debut Season

The cable channel is a new media-rights partner this season.
Jul 15, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to the crowd as they take on the Connecticut Sun in the first quarter at TD Garden.
July 30, 2025

WNBA Viewership Up Across All Networks Compared to 2024

Non-Fever games are up 37% compared to the full 2024 season.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Jul 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Kia Nurse (11) drives to the basket against Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) during the second half at United Center.
July 29, 2025

Fever-Sky Draws 1.5M Viewers Despite Clark, Reese Absences

Clark and Reese both missed the game due to injury.
July 29, 2025

WBD Restructuring Shows What’s Old Is New Again

WBD will become Warner Bros. and Discovery Global as two separate entities.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.
July 24, 2025

CBS Sports to Get New Owner As Skydance Merger Clears FCC Hurdle

The long-awaited, but highly debated, merger gains regulatory approval.