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NFL Targets Roughly $16 Billion a Year in New Media Rights

Analysts say streamer demand, contract triggers give the league rare leverage.

Overview

  • Industry research projects the NFL’s annual media haul could reach about $15.9 billion, a roughly 58% jump from a little over $10 billion today.
  • Paramount’s pending sale to Skydance triggered a clause that let the NFL reopen CBS talks, with Puck reporting a possible rise in CBS’s fee from about $2.1 billion to roughly $3 billion per year.
  • The league is pursuing partner-by-partner negotiations, and reports say it wants a new rights structure in place by September 2026.
  • Carve-outs for streamers are expected to expand, with reporting that Netflix is exploring an increase in its holiday package from two to four games.
  • Analysts warn higher fees could pull money from film and TV budgets and push fans to pay more as games spread across ESPN, Fox, CBS, NBC, Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube.