In 1939, NBC set a broadcast milestone by airing the first-ever televised professional football game, one of many firsts in the long-running partnership with the NFL. Over the years, it became synonymous with the NFL, airing 20 Super Bowls and weekly Sunday Night Football. In fact, the 100-year-old platform celebrated SNF as primetime’s No. 1 TV show for an unprecedented 15th consecutive year this February. But the realities have now changed.

Today’s world runs on economics and politics. The NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell – who was once hailed for raising the NFL to another level – isn’t unaware of capitalization. While the Justice Department is investigating the league’s violation of the antitrust policy, politics could be playing a quiet role, too, putting NBC inevitably on the radar.

“I would say it’s NBC. Look at what NBC is paying for the NBA [$2.5 billion annually]. Now imagine what the NFL wants for Sunday Night Football, which is the best game,” media analyst Michael Nathanson said during an interview with Puck’s John Ourand.

“What’s stopping Netflix, which wants more events, to get Sunday night’s best game for 18 straight weeks? That would accelerate its ability to monetize ads. So, to me, the NBC Sunday night game is probably the most at risk.”

In 2017, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings infamously said that the streaming platform’s primary competitor wasn’t Hollywood or even linear TV—it was sleep itself. So, if it is getting an opportunity to bring the NFL into its fold, what is stopping it? Netflix has focused on big events to date, take any sport. It would very much like to be a part of the NFL circle. Then there’s Amazon.

Prime Video already carries the Thursday Night Football rights in its historic 11-year contract with the league. If it wanted SNF, it could push NBC to Thursday or completely out of the picture. But more powerful in the decision could be politics and the US President Donald Trump.

“Wow! Fake News MSNBC has REALLY BAD RATINGS, in fact, not much better than the broken broadcasting disaster known as CNN,” President Trump wrote in April 2025.

“Comcast, which also has the ailing network known as NBC, is trying to stay away from lawsuits by disassociating NBC from MSNBC, but it won’t work. Comcast, the owner of both, and it’s Chairman, Brian Roberts, are a disgrace to the integrity of Broadcasting!!!”

If the NFL is forced to take action, a bigger piece of the pie might also be given to broadcasters like CBS and FOX, owned by the billionaire Ellison and Murdoch families, respectively. The two have positive ties to the Government and President Donald Trump.

Nathanson’s comment about NBC isn’t untrue, though.

Why NBC could lose SNF in the bidding war and how the DoJ can save it

Money. That’s all it comes down to. In July 2024, NBC invested a reported $6 billion in its 11-year deal with the NBA. It recently also added Sunday Night Baseball.

While all of this sports strategy has revolved around its NFL schedule, if a bidding war does begin, it may not have the capital to withstand a challenge from a giant like Netflix, even if it came to losing its most-watched show for 15 consecutive years, headlined by names like Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark, and Terry McAulay.

But that’s where the DoJ comes in.

Nathanson’s comment about NBC stems from the league facing an investigation by the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission about “whether the NFL is harming consumers in the way it sells its broadcast rights,” per ESPN.

As part of the investigation, the biggest issue in contention has been Roger Goodell and Co.’s decision to involve streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon. This adds another avenue for the service providers and the league to earn money by placing certain games behind a new paywall. However, it takes away the fans’ flexibility to watch games for free on TV.

The NFL made use of the force majeure clause after the acquisition of Paramount Global by Skydance Media. This allowed them to renegotiate the deal before it expires. CBS might increase its current yearly contribution of $2.1 billion for each of the remaining years. Fox came into play when Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal posted an editorial questioning the viability of the league’s 65-year-old broadcast antitrust exemption.

While there isn’t any confirmation for NBC, speculation alone has caused fans to erupt on social media and call out Roger Goodell and the league for letting this situation get out of hand.

Fans slam Roger Goodell over report that NBC is at risk of losing SNF

With NBC considered a true home for football by many, fans were quick to call out Roger Goodell and Co. for risking America losing Sunday Night Football.

“Roger Goodell is the worst thing to ever happen to the NFL!🤬,” an angry fan wrote, while another user added their support, exclaiming, “PLEASE STOP!”

The NFL is not staying idle regarding the broadcasting rights revenue, beginning the renegotiation even before the deal expires. The first two networks, which will change in their contract terms, are currently CBS and FOX, although it is believed that soon NBC will join the list.

Adding to the discussion, another fan highlighted the role of streaming services like Amazon and Netflix, which have been responsible for inflating the prices of broadcasting deals.

“Streaming services are killing live sports,” the fan wrote on X before another supporter retweeted by saying, “Corporations and their greed are killing live sports. Fixed it for you.”

Switching the more premium games to streamers, such as those on Sunday nights, would expedite this trend, particularly among those resistant to transitioning from regular television but who would ultimately be persuaded if it meant watching their favorite games. Prime Video has even gotten started in this regard with their Thursday line-up.

One commentor highlighted how fans are being bled dry as they have to shell out big bucks on various platforms to watch their favorite teams.

“The amount of money, and apps, and streaming services, and cable subscriptions is getting absolutely insane for the average sports fan,” the supporter wrote.

As things stand now, the current contracts lock in for another four seasons, with ESPN keeping its options open one year past that. How the story ends will be determined by how far each network wants to push things: some will extend sooner, while others will play hardball. But in the end, it won’t take long before the complete picture emerges regarding where all the games will be broadcast.

With the NFL gearing up towards its next broadcasting deal, Roger Goodell and Co. must ensure the fans don’t feel alienated by the increase in price when a bigger deal than the current one is eventually signed in the future.