A report from Bloomberg News offers some hope for NFL teams that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the salary cap in upcoming seasons might not cut so deep. In fact, the television networks might pay as much as double the current rates to keep broadcasting NFL games.
Bloomberg reports that FOX is willing to pony up as much as $2 billion per year to keep its share of the NFL broadcast rights. FOX currently pays just over $1 billion per year on its deal. And they won’t be the only bidders. From the report,
Now Fox has to fend off other broadcasters, which also want to air high-profile matchups. Negotiations with the league are heating up because current broadcast rights begin expiring at the end of next year, starting with Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and its deal for “Monday Night Football.” Talks between the league and the networks are already underway, but at an early stage, Fox Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch told investors this month.
“The NFL has asked, I think, all the broadcasters to think about every package, and to think how would we monetize packages that we currently have or other packages differently,” Murdoch said. “So, we’re looking at all sorts of options.”
NFL teams have been bracing for a potential reduction in the salary cap for 2021 and beyond due to the lost revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Detroit Lions are in relatively good shape compared to many other teams, but a bump in the broadcast revenue could ease any burden or reduction on the cap due to the loss of in-stadium revenue.
