Netflix Executive Clears Stand on Future NFL Games as Roger Goodell Expected to Give Up on Long Standing Partnership

Just after the Netflix streamed the Christmas games, the NFL executive vice president of media distribution, Hans Schroeder said, “We’re thrilled with our first Christmas Gameday on Netflix with NFL games being streamed to a global audience.” The streaming giant ventured into sports broadcast With Mike Tyson–Jake Paul fight. In January this year, it started with WWE RAW streaming on the platform. But seems like the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the Netflix are preparing for a big show.

The Netflix’s chief content officer, Bela Bajaria, told Matt Belloni of Puck that the company will bid for the NFL’s Sunday afternoon games. Currently, the Sunday NFL games are aired on Fox & CBS. While Fox got the NFC package from the CBS in 1994, the CBS acquired the AFC from NBC in 1998.

It’s the perseverance and efforts of Roger Goodell, who has worked hard to gain some sizeable market share. He has gone international with the league. This year also, the NFL games will be held in London, Berlin, and Madrid. The news comes in the backdrop of the fact that the NFL resumed its talks with ESPN over the NFL Network and NFL RedZone.

For 4 years, the NFL is trying to sell NFLN, RedZone, NFL.com, and its fantasy-football operations. But they have found no outlet yet. Last year, both parties sat on the negotiating table, which paused during the season. Will the league commissioner give up on long-standing partnerships and partner with the streaming giant? The deal runs till 2033, but most people are expecting the league to renegotiate in 2029.

Netflix has been riding high on the success of hosting the sports events. It started off when it got the exclusive rights to the Christmas games from 2024 to 2026.

Roger Goodell’s Christmas decision reaped huge dividends

The streaming platform paid $150 million to host the Ravens–Texans and Chiefs–Steelers game on 2024 Christmas day. The success was overwhelming. Watched in all 50 states and 218 countries, 65 million viewers watched the games. The Chiefs-Steelers game averaged 30 million global viewers, while the other game was a little high, with 31.3 worldwide viewers.

It would have made Roger Goodell happy. Netflix didn’t come unprepared. To make it a success, they roped in talented artists like Beyonce during the Ravens-Texans game, making it popular as the Beyonce Bowl. Even Lamar Jackson had a little fun, as he first claimed he would watch the half-time performance. But later remained away, saying he was focused on the game. Overall, it was an immense success.

The games amassed over 1 billion impressions on Netflix and other social media handles. Riding high on the popularity wave, the streaming platform also recorded its most watched Christmas Day in America. Football fans will definitely need some to adjust to the new platform if the game moves on. But, it will help the game become more global.