The NFL’s new TV deal will mean changes for viewers. Here’s a breakdown.
The good news for the Chiefs (and the other NFL teams) is the salary cap is going to increase ahead of the 2022 season.
The league’s announcement of a new television deal on Wednesday all but ensures that.
CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN and Amazon will pay the NFL about $110 billion over 11 years, the New York Times reported, nearly doubling the value of its previous contracts.
The new agreements will begin with the 2023 season and run through the 2033 season.
“These new media deals will provide our fans even greater access to the games they love. We’re proud to grow our partnerships with the most innovative media companies in the market,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Along with our recently completed labor agreement with the NFLPA, these distribution agreements bring an unprecedented era of stability to the League and will permit us to continue to grow and improve our game.”
Here is a breakdown of what the networks are paying from Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen:
There are changes coming to how fans will watch games. Here is a breakdown.
More flex scheduling
The new contract will allow ESPN to use flex scheduling for “Monday Night Football” games, which means it can pick a better matchup. That will start in Week 12 and go to the end of the regular season.
ESPN said it will be allowed to have any four teams play twice a season on Monday nights.
Monday twofers
ESPN will carry game six more regular-season games (for a total of 23). There are the usual “Monday Night Football” games on ESPN, but ABC also will show another separate contest on Mondays in three different weeks.
ESPN/ABC also will have a Saturday doubleheader during the season’s final week, and one Sunday morning game will be available on ESPN+.
Playoffs on ABC
The network had broadcast one Wild Card game each postseason, but will now add a Divisional round game, too.
Also, ABC will air Super Bowl LXI (after the 2026 season) and Super Bowl LXV (after the 2030 season).
Thursday Night Football
Amazon, which had joined other networks in broadcasting the Thursday games since 2017, will be the sole place to watch “Thursday Night Football.”
That means it will only be available to stream to a national audience, but that shouldn’t change the rule that a local network will still broadcast any game involving a local team. For example, a Chiefs game on Thursday would be on Amazon and a free, over-the-air station in Kansas City.
Per the Washington Post: “The NFL televised one game exclusively on Amazon last season, which drew around 4 million viewers, much less than the average game on linear TV.”
A 17th game
It’s no secret that the NFL was waiting until the new TV deals were in place to announce its new 17-game schedule format.
That’s expected to happen soon with the 17th game coming this fall. The Chiefs likely will be facing the Green Bay Packers.
Future Super Bowls
In addition to the Super Bowls that will air on ABC, here is when the other networks will show the biggest sporting event in the United States:
- CBS: 2023, 2027, 2031
- Fox: 2024, 2028, 2032
- NBC: 2025, 2029, 2033
Streaming options
There will be more ways to watch NFL games, too.
Games that air on CBS also will be streamed live on Paramount+, which is ViacomCBS’ streaming service. That will begin with the 2021 season, CBS said.
ESPN+ subscribers will have an opportunity to watch one International Series game on an national basis every season. Also, ESPN will be allowed to simulcast all ABC and ESPN games on ESPN+.
NBC can show its “Sunday Night Football” games on its streaming service, Peacock, which also “will deliver an exclusive feed of a select number of NFL games over the course of the agreement.”
Fox will show games on its streaming platform Tubi.
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 9:01 AM.
