Roger Goodell Signals Major NFL Shakeup as CBS Ownership Changes—What’s Next for the League?

It’s ultimately two separate issues. One, put the CBS contract out to bid. Two, extend all deals with the current partners before putting all contracts out to bid.

With the long-delayed Skydance-Paramount merger suddenly undelayed, the NFL has a decision to make.Under its contract with CBS, the league can pull the plug on the deal after a change in control of the company.The current broadcast deals run through 2033. The league has an option to pull the plug on all contracts after the 2029 season. Given the rights fees recently paid for the NBA, it’s widely expected that the NFL will exercise its right to end the existing deals early.“We’ve had a long relationship with CBS for decades,” Goodell said, via Brendon Kleen of AwfulAnnouncing.com. “We also have a relationship outside of that with Skydance. So I don’t anticipate that that’s something that we’ll see. We have a two-year period to make that decision. I don’t see that happening, but we have that option, and that’s something we’ll take a look at.”The sudden resurrection of the Skydance-Paramount merger has thrown the NFL’s broadcast future into the spotlight—and boy, what a mess of options they now face. See, the league’s got a special clause in its CBS contract that lets it walk away if there’s a change in the company’s control. Commissioner Roger Goodell was grilled about this the other day on CNBC, and while he seemed pretty chill about it, acknowledging decades of partnership with CBS and a separate relationship with Skydance, he didn’t exactly shut the door on the possibility. History buffs will recall CBS’s broadcast dance card was shuffled in the mid-90s, trading NFC and AFC package rights among networks before cementing its grip on Sunday afternoon AFC games since ’98. Now, with existing deals locked through 2033 but a tempting escape hatch after 2029, and the NBA’s jaw-dropping new rights fees fresh on everyone’s minds, expectations are sky-high that the NFL could hit the brakes on these contracts early—or better yet, lock in some long-term cash with extensions through 2034 or 2035. Bottom line? We’re dealing with two beasts here: whether to toss the CBS contract into an open auction ring and whether to cozy up to current partners with extensions before the bidding frenzy kicks off. It’s a chess game—and every move counts. LEARN MORE

Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about the possibility this week during an appearance on CNBC.On Monday, John Ourand of Puck reported that the league “could” extend all of the deals before 2029, using the waiver of its ability to scrap the deals after 2029 to secure a sweetener through 2034 or 2035.The CBS relationship was paused from 1994 through 1997. Fox took the NFC package from CBS, and CBS took the AFC package from NBC. CBS has held the Sunday afternoon package (which predominantly features AFC games) since 1998.