Goodell: NFL's media-rights talks could start as soon as 2026

The NFL is weighing an early restart to its media-rights talks as soon as 2026, Commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC.

The league's existing package, signed in 2021, spans 11 years and is valued at $111 billion. It includes an NFL opt-out after the 2029-30 season for all partners except Disney, whose deal runs one year longer.

Any acceleration would require buy-in from its current partners -- Disney/ESPN, NBCUniversal, Paramount/CBS, Amazon, and Fox -- but could unlock billions in additional revenue.

Goodell said that the league built flexibility into the contracts to respond to a rapidly shifting marketplace.

"The reason why we felt so strongly about the option is the landscape is changing," Goodell said. "It could be a long-term deal with the benefit of having that stability and security of it. But I think the reality of it is it changes so quickly that you want to have the ability to move. I think those options are going to give us a lot of flexibility to potentially go earlier,"

" ... Obviously it's not going to happen this year. But it could happen as early as next year."

NFL games continue to dominate linear TV. According to Nielsen data, 72 of last year's top 100 telecasts were NFL contests (93 the year prior). That leverage, combined with recent rights jumps for the NBA and NHL, has the league evaluating whether it's missing an opportunity to capitalize on more revenue.

Any 2026 timeline faces hurdles. ESPN's pending transaction to sell a 10 percent stake to the NFL could complicate negotiations until it's resolved. Separately, the league has discussed adding an 18th regular-season week -- a move that would require NFLPA approval and could shape the scale and structure of future packages. The NFL also wants headroom to incorporate emerging distributors; YouTube carried a Week 1 game this season, and Netflix debuted with Christmas Day matchups last year and will add two more this year.

Beyond network lineups, earlier renewals would send ripple effects throughout the economics of football. A richer deal would be expected to push the salary cap higher in future years and support continued growth in franchise valuation.

--Field Level Media