Roger Goodell’s NFL to Make Big Changes to $110 Billion Media Rights Deals Before 2029 – Report

On September 5th, 2025, the Los Angeles Chargers will play the Kansas City Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil. An AFC West rival clash airing exclusively on YouTube. Not YouTube TV, just YouTube. What’s the difference? YouTube TV is a paid subscription platform. What does that mean? You can watch this game on YouTube, completely free of cost. No payment, no subscription…this one’s on the house. Although it’s just one game that’s free, it is a start for an exciting transition.

The NFL is changing how it prefers to broadcast and embrace the cord-cutting trend. Which simply means the league is preferring streaming platforms over television stations. “Over the last five years, we started the migration to streaming. Our fans want this option, and the league understands that streaming is the future,” said Robert K. Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and chairman of the NFL’s media committee. With its direction clear, the league has begun re-evaluating its position in current media rights contracts.

As per a report made by John Ourand of Puck, Roger Goodell’s “league could approach networks before the 2029 opt-out and try to renegotiate new deals.” The existing deal already amounts to $110 billion. And now, the NFL may take the chance for a better deal by opting out early in a contract lasting till 2033. An earlier timeline would be preferable for the NFL to strike a deal with legacy broadcast networks. These networks would like to keep “streamers at bay for at least one more cycle,” continued Ourand. So, they will come into the meeting room in a disadvantageous state. In such a case, Goodell has the power to name his price.

The NFL thinks that it is seriously undervalued after the NBA signed an eleven-year $76 billion deal with Comcast’s NBC and Disney’s ESPN. And they may be right. After all, NFL channels dominated TV in 2024, accounting for 70 of the year’s 100 most-watched programs. There’s no doubt that football is the most popular sport in America, with the last Super Bowl drawing in a record viewership of 112.2 million. Therefore, when the NFL brings all the networks together in their 2029 opt-out, they will ask for much more than $110 billion this time.

Roger Goodell’s 110 billion dollar contract

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted spring practices, OTAs, and the pre-season, and took the NFL beyond the playbook they were used to. But the NFL stood strong and pressed forward with its goal of 256 games in 17 weeks. And they pulled it off…but with a cost. With fans not being able to attend and only watching through a digitized platform, the league lost a lot of money in ticket sales. At that moment, the NFL recognized its immense value to broadcasting networks.

In 2021, to make up for lost revenue in the previous covid season the NFL decided to extend the games for another week. So what was a 17-week game schedule became an 18-week rollercoaster. From 256 games to 272. The fans cheered, and the broadcasting networks celebrated just as loudly. More games mean more coverage and more money. So when the league changed their game schedule, the value also went up accordingly. For broadcasters then, it was $110 billion, who knows what behemoth of a number it will jump to now?