During his first term as President in 2017, Donald Trump sparked controversy by urging NFL fans to boycott games if players continued to kneel during the national anthem. He also called on team owners to fire or suspend those who protested. And most recently, he initiated an investigation into NFL media rights. But Trump’s latest action is not random; there’s a solid reason behind it.

“It’s tough. You got people that love football,” said Trump on Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson. “They are great people. They don’t make enough money to go and pay for this. It’s tough. And they could be killing the Golden Goose. I mean, they have that stupid kickoff thing that you can’t watch. It’s unwatchable. I hate the games where they have the new phony kickoff. I don’t think it’s any safer. They ruin the game, but they have to be careful because others tried this, and all of a sudden, you don’t have a sport anymore.

Trump focused on two considerable matters during his conversation with Sharyl: the NFL’s new kickoff rule and the increasing cost of watching football games.  The NFL’s “Dynamic Kickoff” rule, enforced in 2024 and refined for 2026, was aimed at increasing returns while reducing high-speed collisions for player safety. However, Trump has shared a contradicting opinion on it, arguing that it has made football less entertaining and changed the violent nature of the sport. But that’s not the core story here.

“There’s something very sad when they take football away from many people. Very sad. I don’t like it,” Trump added. “They’re making a lot of money. 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 a $1000 a game. It’s crazy. So, I’m not happy about it.”

The POTUS revealed that the biggest reason behind launching his investigation into the NFL media rights. CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN/ABC, and Amazon Prime Video stand as the primary broadcasters for the league. These platforms run on subscription models, where the rates usually vary from $7.99 to $19.99 per month.

Donald Trump believes that paying $1000 a game is crazy for common folk. The probe into the NFL majorly focuses on whether the league’s increasingly fragmented broadcasting deals and splitting games across numerous streaming platforms constitute anti-competitive behavior that unfairly increases costs for consumers. The core objective of the investigation primarily includes affordability for fans.

Meanwhile, the league has defended its strategy, noting that over 87% of games remain on free, broadcast television. NFL executives argue the current model reflects consumer demand and that all games involving local teams are still accessible via free-to-air channels in their respective markets. But what actually sparked or drew Trump’s attention to the alleged consumer exploitation through NFL media rights?

Fox Sports owner reportedly lobbied Donald Trump

A report from the Wall Street Journal indicates that FOX owner Rupert Murdoch stands as the man behind the government investigation into NFL media rights. The discussion is believed to have taken place in February during a dinner setting, where Murdoch saw it as an opportunity to push his plea to Donald Trump.

“Murdoch and his top lieutenants warned Trump that if streamers gained rights to more games, it would kill broadcast networks (like Fox),” the report stated.

As it seems, Mudoch’s primary concerns lie around the NFL’s partnership with streaming platforms. The NFL began distributing media rights to streaming platforms in 2015, when Yahoo! paid an estimated $17 million to exclusively stream a regular-season game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars from London. Following this, the league’s strategy evolved through several distinct phases.

In 2016, Twitter (Now X) became the first social media platform to stream games. It had non-exclusive rights to 10 Thursday Night Football (TNF) games. A year later, Amazon Prime Video them, paying $50 million per year for the same non-exclusive TNF streaming rights. The partnership continued. In 2022, Amazon became the first streaming service to hold an exclusive season-long national package. With that, it also took over TNF from FOX a year earlier than initially planned.

So, considering this, Murdoch’s concerns about the threats from streaming giants like Amazon are valid to an extent. Following that February dinner with Donald Trump, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initiated an investigation into the shift of sports to streaming platforms. But apart from that, there’s another layer of complication which may have prompted Murdoch to reportedly take Trump’s help.

The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 gives the NFL a limited antitrust exemption, allowing it to pool TV rights and negotiate massive, stable, long-term deals with networks to broadcast games over-the-air, guaranteeing Fox a massive audience for Sunday games. The act specifically covers “broadcasting” (free over-the-air television) and ignores streaming services.

The NFL may see it as a lucrative opportunity to primarily move towards streaming platforms instead of traditional broadcasters like Fox. For this very reason, the NFL has been investigated for allegedly forcing fans to pay multiple entry fees to watch games through streaming platforms at high prices.

As things stand, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is formally examining the NFL’s media agreements. Meanwhile, for Murdoch, the reason to lobby the Trump administration was simple. He seemingly aims to prevent the league from gaining an advantage before their next significant negotiation potentially jeopardizes Fox’s future.