Since 2012, the NFL Honors ceremony has aired every year on both NFL Network and its Super Bowl broadcast partner. The NFL season-end event, hosted by a celebrity, commemorates players and coaches with awards, such as the MVP and Coach of the Year. Earlier this year, NBC and NFL Network aired the event, while FuboTV, NFL+, and Peacock streamed it online. But this year, despite taking control of the NFL Network’s media assets, ESPN is reportedly losing the rights to air the event.

“Netflix is closing in on a deal to air the NFL Honors ceremony in 2027, sources told Front Office Sports,” Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel reported on May 12. “It is ‘likely’ that Netflix would be the exclusive broadcaster this season for the event, a source said.”

On May 13, Netflix plans to host its annual Upfront presentation for advertisers in New York, and many expect the streaming giant to announce its NFL deals there. If Netflix officially announces the NFL Honors deal in this presentation, the event would move entirely to streaming with no linear TV broadcast. That’s a tough loss for ESPN in its first year as a Super Bowl broadcaster.

This year’s NFL Honors averaged 3.7 million viewers across NFL Network and NBC. While that number doesn’t compare to the viewership for regular NFL games, it still outperformed most live TV programming. The event audience also jumped significantly from last year’s 2.3 million average viewers, likely because of the intense MVP race between quarterbacks Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford. 

With another compelling award race being a possibility next season, NFL Honors can be a more valuable property than many expected. This makes ESPN’s missing out on airing the event even more surprising.

But the move to Netflix also highlights the NFL’s growing shift toward streaming platforms, something many fans continue to criticize. With NFL games spread across Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Peacock, and other services, fans now need multiple subscriptions just to follow the league. Last season, NFL fans needed to pay a $14.99 monthly fee to Amazon Prime just to watch Thursday Night Football exclusively.

So, last month, the U.S. Department of Justice even launched an antitrust investigation into the league over its transition to streaming platforms. And earlier this week, even President Donald Trump appeared frustrated with the NFL over this issue.

“[The NFL is] making a lot of money,” Trump said during a Full Measure News interview. “They could make a bit less and let the people see. You have people who live for Sunday. They can’t think about anything else, and then all of a sudden, they’re going to have to pay $1000 a game. It’s crazy. So, I’m not happy about it.”

Still, Netflix airing NFL Honors actually makes sense. The streaming platform thrives on entertainment-driven events, and NFL Honors feels more like a celebrity production than a traditional sports broadcast. The award show also fits perfectly into Netflix’s ‘event’ telecast strategy. 

Netflix is more focused on covering events in its live productions

Back in 2024, Netflix signed a three-year agreement with the NFL to stream the Christmas Day games. Since then, Netflix has streamed NFL doubleheaders on Christmas for two straight seasons. Reports now suggest Netflix also secured three more NFL games for the 2026 season, including a Thanksgiving Eve game and a Week 1 matchup in Australia. Those games reportedly come from the five-game package, which the NFL regained as inventory from the ESPN-NFL Network deal.

The NFL also reportedly pitched Netflix on a Sunday morning package built around international games. That proposal seemed ideal for a global streaming company, but Netflix apparently passed on the opportunity. This week, in an interview with Fox Business Network, Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos shed some light on his company’s strategy behind this move. 

“We’re leaning into the eventized event,” Sarandos said. “We’re not bidding on whole seasons of sports, including the NFL.”

Sarandos defended Netflix’s live sports strategy, which centers on high-profile spectacles. Netflix has already leaned into that approach with productions like the Tom Brady roast from back in 2024. But this also limits the NFL’s options outside its traditional broadcast partners like FOX, CBS, NBC, ABC/ESPN, and Prime Video.

Moreover, over the years, Netflix has also streamed boxing matches, MLB games, and MMA events, attracting millions of viewers globally. So, NFL Honors now looks like the latest step in the streaming platform’s push into the world of live sports.