Report: NFL "could" attempt to extend media deals before 2029

The NFL’s current TV deals technically run through 2033. But the league has the ability to pull the plug four years early — and it undoubtedly will.

The likelihood of open season after the 2029 season could result in another potential solution. John Ourand of Puck reports that the NFL “could” approach the networks before 2029, with the goal of negotiating deals that would last a year or two beyond 2033.

That would make plenty of sense, given the leverage the league enjoys via the ability to throw the doors open for all comers in only four years. With Netflix and YouTube emerging as future partners via one-off experiences (Netflix on Christmas, and YouTube on the first Friday of the season), there could be more partners than packages.

Which is good for the NFL. And which makes it prudent for the networks to extend the current deals before having to compete against other operations to keep their current football turf.

The unofficial impetus for an effort to extend all deals could come from a change-of-control provision that allows the NFL to re-bid the CBS package if/when (and it currently looks more like “when” than “if”) the Skydance-Paramount merger is finalized.

Regardless of how it plays out, the NFL has a knack for squeezing more and more cash out of its TV rights. So, whatever the league does, new deals will happen and the dollars will hit a level that will seem unsustainable. Until the next time around, when the numbers get even higher.