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Morning Edition

April 1, 2025

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Sources tell FOS that the NFL is all but certain to opt out of its media-rights deals four years early, in 2029 and 2030. Here’s what we know.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]], and Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]

Sources: NFL ‘Virtual Lock’ to Opt Out of Media-Rights Deals [[link removed]]

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

PALM BEACH, Fla. — The National Football League hasn’t formally decided whether to opt out of its domestic media rights contracts four years early, but it’s all but certain to happen as data continues to come in, strongly bolstering its case to do so.

The NFL’s current rights deals with Amazon, CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC run through the 2033 season, but the league has opt-out provisions with most of them that allow it to exit instead after the 2029 season, and do so with ESPN a year later. Before Super Bowl LIX last month, commissioner Roger Goodell said the opt-outs were “incredibly valuable, [[link removed]]” and that their deals are “undervalued” given the NFL’s status as by far the most popular programming in all of U.S. television, regardless of genre.

Since then, the Super Bowl itself became the most-watched program ever on U.S. television [[link removed]], and Major League Baseball is parting from ESPN and is now pursuing even greater riches for those national rights [[link removed]]. Those data points, plus other major sports rights deals for entities such as the National Basketball Association [[link removed]] and College Football Playoff add support for the league’s position.

Sources said the opt-outs have become a virtual lock, even if NFL EVP and chief media and business officer Brian Rolapp isn’t confirming it.

“All that data is positive for the value of sports media in general, and for the NFL specifically,” Rolapp said in response to a Front Office Sports question about the impact of recent factors such as the Super Bowl LIX viewership. “I don’t think it’s a mystery that as media fragments, there are very few programming options that aggregate large audiences. Sports are at the top there, and the NFL is at the top of that.

“How we think about the opt-outs, we haven’t made any decisions, but they are there because in a media environment that is changing rapidly, we want to make sure we have the flexibility to make any, all, or no changes at all. We continue to monitor the landscape and we continue to do the thinking that would be necessary as we go forward,” he said.

The league’s rights holders, of course, are also well aware of these forthcoming opt-outs.

“The NFL is our largest partnership. They have an incredible product, and we’ve had a deep relationship with them for a very long time,” Fox executive chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch said last month at a Morgan Stanley conference. “So, we see this ‘amend and extend’ provision, which is still some years out, as an opportunity for us to, frankly, deepen our relationship with the NFL.”

Getting Flexible on Flexing

NFL team owners, meanwhile, approved an extension of flexible scheduling rules to allow Sunday games to be moved to Amazon’s Thursday Night Football on a permanent basis with 21 days’ notice.

Previously, the shifts were available with 28 days’ notice, but the reduced window gives the league additional time to optimize broadcast placements. It also further highlights the Amazon showcase as the streaming property continues to draw audiences more like its linear counterparts. Other standard rules around flexible scheduling will continue to apply, and league officials promised a careful application of the more liberalized approach.

The league also acknowledged that a shift from a Sunday afternoon game to Thursday is far more disruptive, particularly for attending fans, than simply going from Sunday afternoon to prime time on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

“We’re going to be very judicious when and how we do this, but in those instances where it arises, it’s very valuable to us,” said NFL Media EVP and COO Hans Schroeder.

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Clark Hunt: Chiefs Will Decide on Stadium Plans by Summer

Manica

PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s later than when the Chiefs first envisioned, but team owner Clark Hunt is now targeting this summer to decide whether to renovate Arrowhead Stadium or build a new facility.

The NFL team has been actively evaluating its options after Jackson County, Mo., voters last year strongly rejected a proposed sales tax measure [[link removed]] to support renovations at Arrowhead Stadium, as well as a new ballpark for MLB’s Royals. The Chiefs originally had targeted early this year to make a final choice on the team’s stadium future.

“We’re having good conversations, and both options are still very much in play,” Hunt told Front Office Sports. “I’m hopeful that we’ll have some news to announce there by summer at the latest.”

The team’s deliberations have three facets, as beyond the potential of upgrading Arrowhead Stadium, there is interest from both Missouri and Kansas [[link removed]] about building a new facility.

Two factors came up strongly in recent fan polling conducted by the team and research firm CSL International: a loud environment and the ability to tailgate. Both are already present at Arrowhead Stadium, which would seemingly support the renovation option, but Hunt said those factors would be strongly prioritized in a new stadium, too.

A dome on a new facility remains in active consideration as it would allow Kansas City to bid for major events such as the Super Bowl, Final Four, and the College Football Playoff.

The Chiefs’ current lease at Arrowhead Stadium expires in 2031.

America’s Team

The Chiefs are now the NFL’s top television draw [[link removed]], a status burnished by five Super Bowl trips and three titles since 2019, as well as the magnetism of stars such as quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce. In toppling the Cowboys, the prior and longtime fan favorite, it’s a status that Hunt eagerly embraces.

“Our goal is to be the world’s team, and that starts with being one of the top teams here in the United States,” Hunt said. “It’s a credit to our players, some of the personalities that we have on the team, certainly the success we’ve had over the last six years. We also have some very special fans that help drive those numbers.”

No Redo for Mahomes

The NFL quarterback market is now in a rapid reconstruction [[link removed]], particularly regarding overall compensation and annual guarantees. One of the most successful and longest-tenured signal-callers, Mahomes would seemingly be in line for another renegotiation to escalate his contract. At one time, Mahomes held a North American pro sports record, but he is now tied as just the 13th-highest-paid quarterback [[link removed]].

Instead, Mahomes has restructured his deal, in part to help give the Chiefs more salary-cap room and retain other stars.

“A little over a year ago, we upgraded his deal within the confines of his original 10-year extension, and that really put in place a system that I don’t see changing for several years,” Hunt said.

Read the full story [[link removed]] from FOS newsletter writer Eric Fisher.

SEC’s Record Payout

FOS graphic

The SEC will receive an estimated $70 million from “units” [[link removed]] due to its success in the men’s March Madness tournament. It’s a record payout for any conference. A unit, worth approximately $2 million, is earned by qualifying for the Big Dance and then for each win in the tournament up to the Final Four.

While no units are earned from making the national championship, the SEC is assured a participant in the title game as Florida and Auburn face off in the Final Four.

The Big Ten finished in second with $42 million from 21 units, but the conference does not have a Final Four representative. The Big 12’s Houston will battle the ACC’s Duke in the other Final Four game.

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Samantha Holloway Is Seattle’s NHL Present—and Hopeful NBA Future

Seattle Kraken

SEATTLE — A massive storage closet sits four stories beneath Seattle Kraken owner Samantha Holloway’s suite. Located in the bowels of Climate Pledge Arena, where the Kraken play, its contents are nothing special: chairs, tables, and assorted objects the arena needs to store.

What’s atypical is the name on the plaque outside the door: NBA Locker Room. Holloway wants to make that title a reality.

This was part of the plan for the ownership group of one of NHL’s youngest franchises, led by Holloway’s father, the late billionaire David Bonderman, who died in December [[link removed]], and movie executive Jerry Bruckheimer. When they brought pro hockey to Seattle in 2017, they also brought their vision for pro basketball.

Holloway—one of only three female owners in the NHL—has run the team for the past three years. Now, she’s not only focused on guiding the nascent Kraken franchise but also filling the void left when the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.

The SuperSonics are one of the most famous teams to pull up stakes in modern sports history, right alongside the Brooklyn Dodgers and Hartford Whalers [[link removed]]. Plans to bring the team back in the 17 years since it left have fluctuated, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver has flip-flopped in recent years over his appetite for expansion [[link removed]]. On Thursday, Silver and FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis said the two sides will begin to explore a new European league [[link removed]] together as partners, but there were “no new developments” on NBA expansion.

Holloway, who hails from Washington, D.C., has a lot to manage in her day-to-day with the Kraken. But she’s also constantly keeping an ear to NBA expansion talks. She’s ready to act if Silver gives it the green light—but knows she needs to be careful not to overpromise, lest she underdeliver.

“[My dad] said to somebody, ‘You know, I make no promises,’” Holloway tells Front Office Sports about reviving the Sonics. “And I feel like I certainly wouldn’t promise. There are so many unknowns, and I mean, first of all, it’s a privilege to even be considered. We’re waiting for the NBA and expansion may be on its radar, and it may not be.”

You can read the rest of Alex Schiffer’s story on Samatha Holloway’s efforts to bring basketball back to Seattle here [[link removed]].

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Editors’ Picks WNBA Draft: Tourney Stars Face Tough Choices Amid CBA Uncertainty [[link removed]]by Colin Salao [[link removed]]Flau’Jae Johnson and Olivia Miles are still undecided. Trae Young Is Latest NBA Star to Take On 7-Figure College Job [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Young is the latest NBA star to join the college arms race. NASCAR Pit Crew Member Brehanna Daniels Didn’t Know She’d Be a Trailblazer [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]The first Black female tire changer didn’t know she’d be a trailblazer. Question of the Day

Do you think the NFL will end its current media deals early?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Monday’s result: 30% of respondents have been surprised by the predictability of this year’s men’s March Madness tournament.

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