The NBA is inking new TV deals that could double the value of current ones. The NFL is certainly watching.
The more networks and/or streamers can pay the NBA, the more they can pay the NFL.
NBC, case in point, is supposedly willing to pay the NBA $2.5 billion a year for a game pack. This will make the NFL drool like Homer Simpson with a donut the size of a life jacket.
Keep in mind that the NFL may abandon current TV deals after the 2029 season. Between the plan to expand to 18 games and the increase in the value of NBA rights, the NFL will certainly pull the plug and ask for more.
And, frankly, the NFL can do it. Nothing brings a live audience together like NFL football. There is immense value in this. The networks know this. The NFL knows this.
In fact, the networks should be happy that the NFL won’t be able to put its thumb on the scale for another five years. Not that the NFL won’t find a way to try.
