NFL eyeing major international move

When it comes to media rights, it’s good to be the NFL.

Not only is the league currently in the midst of an 11-year, $111 billion deal that it first signed in 2021, but it also has the ability to opt-out of that deal following the 2028 season. And while plenty can change in the next five years, all indications are that the NFL will do just that and sign an even bigger deal, especially in light of the NBA’s recent 11-year, $77 billion pact .

But wait, there’s more.

According to Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy , the NFL is currently eyeing a multibillion rights deal for its games that are hosted internationally. While the league has not begun the process of shopping such a package, a source familiar with the its international expansion strategy confirmed to FOS that it’s a “a definite possibility.”

In many ways, it’s also academic.

As the NFL clearly continues to grow its international presence with commissioner Roger Goodell recently stating that it could play as many as 16 games overseas in a season (it will play five this year and eight in 2025), adding a separate media rights package only makes sense. Goodell also recently indicated he’s open to the idea of London hosting a Super Bowl , while the possibility/inevitability of the league expanding to an 18-game regular season would only give it more inventory.

In recent years, the NFL has hosted the bulk of its international games on the NFL Network, with others being used to experiment in the streaming space. A 2022 matchup between the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars in London aired exclusively on ESPN Plus, while this season’s Week 1 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil, aired on Peacock.

To that end, selling such a package to streamer appears to be the likeliest outcome, especially considering the league’s recent informal relationship with Netflix, which will also host two games on Christmas Day later this season. In the end, the idea of the NFL effectively creating a a fourth television window on Sunday mornings while increasing both its streaming and international footprints — and bottom line — not only seems viable, but inevitable for the league.

[ Front Office Sports ]

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