NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday the league could begin renegotiating terms for its television rights with media partners as soon as 2026, four years earlier than the current agreement’s opt-out clause.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Goodell said the NFL is leaving money on the table after observing other recent sports media deals.
To revisit terms, the league would need to convince its current media partners Disney (NYSE:DIS), NBCUniversal (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Paramount (NASDAQ:PSKY), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) (NASDAQ:FOXA) to start discussions on any new deal.
Back in 2021, the NFL entered into an $111B, 11-year rights deal that includes an opt-out clause after the 2029-30 season with all of its media partners except Disney, which has one extra year of rights.
“I think our partners would want to sit down and talk to us at any time, and we continue to dialogue with them. I like that opportunity,” Goodell told CNBC. “Obviously it’s not going to happen this year. But it could happen as early as next year. That could happen.”
“The reason why we felt so strongly about the option is the landscape is changing. It could be a long-term deal with the benefit of having that stability and security of it. But I think the reality of it is it changes so quickly that you want to have the ability to move. I think those options are going to give us a lot of flexibility to potentially go earlier,” Goodell told CNBC.
If the NFL manages to secure a new deal, it could also hike the salary cap in future seasons, giving teams more money to spend on players and expand the roster.