CBS is facing a multi-billion-dollar negotiation with Roger Goodell’s NFL that could not only end its decades-long partnership but also force star announcer Tony Romo out of the booth. Rumors have been swirling for a bit, first through reporters like Drew Lerner and Sam Neumann at Awful Announcing, who recently addressed this situation. 

“CBS could hypothetically lose NFL rights during new negotiations,” Awful Announcing reported on their X account.

CBS is looking to pay an extra $1 billion or more every year to keep its current Sunday games. This would increase their bill from $2.1 billion to over $3 billion annually, which is not just concerning for the platform but also for its broadcasting team, which features Tony Romo. 

The CBS analyst is also an ex-football player who understands the impact the move may cause to both the streaming platform and the sport as a whole. 

Tony Romo has already faced calls online to be fired from CBS, with fans blasting his commentary during playoff broadcasts. Viewers slammed him for mis-characterizing plays, talking over analysts, and even misnaming players. Any new NFL-CBS deal could put Romo under an even brighter microscope

If the CBS does not meet the demand of the NFL to potentially pay them an increase of 50% in their fees, then the league could take advantage of the change of ownership clause and make an exit by 2027 to alternative broadcasters like FOX Sports, or other streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube, taking along with them their huge audience.

With this move, the NFL could be telling its partners that if they want to keep their games until 2033 and avoid being “opted out”, they have to pay up now. 

But then the main question is how the discussion even began when both parties had agreed to the terms and conditions of the 10-year media rights extension initially in 2021?

This discussion began after NBC had signed a new agreement with the NBA, which potentially paid them $2.45 billion per year for Sunday Night Basketball. The fact that, irrespective of bringing in more viewership than Basketball does and still being paid less, didn’t really sit well with the NFL organizers.

“I always think we’re undervalued, how’s that?” Roger Goodell said at his Super Bowl press conference last year, when asked about the reason behind being paid less. 

This statement probably wouldn’t be met with agreement from Paramount Skydance president Jeff Shell. The president had confidently announced last month that he was sure that Paramount would stay in business with the NFL for a pretty long time.

The confidence also perhaps stemmed from the fact that the company is in the middle of a bid to acquire Warner Bros, which will bring in more than 200 million subscribers, further making their argument for holding the NFL stronger.

What is CBS’s plan for the NFL?

Whether CBS agrees to give in to the NFL’s demand is not something we can be clear about as of now. But Paramount CEO David Ellison has indicated clearly that the company is in no way willing to give up on the NFL, even if the league demands a price increase.

“We have a phenomenal relationship with the NFL, and we anticipate that continuing for the foreseeable future,” Ellison told CNBC earlier this month. “They are one of our most important partners, and we plan for them to stay one of our most important partners, having just delivered a historic season in partnership with them. You know, ongoing negotiations, we’re not really in a position where we can comment. I promise we’ll share something as soon as we have something to say.”

The fact that the NFL brought in a massive, record-setting audience last season is something worth mentioning. The viewership was around 21.25 million viewers per game during the regular season on CBS’s network, an approximately 11% increase. CBS consistently leads compared to other networks in NFL viewership. It is a known fact that they wouldn’t agree on losing their asset so easily. 

If the CBS agrees to pay the league $3 billion, then the NFL is expected to eliminate the opt-out clause after the 2029-30 season. The renewed contracts can be effective immediately upon the start of the next season, with CBS paying the price for the next eight years.

This isn’t the first time the NFL has renewed a pre-signed contract. The NFL and NBC had signed a 9-year-media-right agreement with NBC in 2011. But the enhanced terms and conditions were renegotiated and agreed upon during the 2022 season.

Whether something similar will take place this year or not is something we will have to wait to find out.