Fox CEO: No NFL Rights Talks Before 2030, Current Deal Runs to 2029
Fox Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch said the company will not renegotiate its NFL media rights deal before 2030, with the current contract running through the 2029 season. The NFL had held preliminary talks with Fox and CBS parent Paramount Skydance to remove exit clauses and raise fees, including a proposed annual increase of nearly US$1 billion for CBS through 2034. The NFL's existing rights deals exceed US$100 billion, while the NBA's 2024 agreement was worth US$77 billion over 11 years. Disney has not been approached for a new deal.
Fox Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch said on Thursday's earnings call that the company will not renegotiate its NFL media rights agreement before 2030. The current contract includes exit clauses allowing the NFL to walk away from all partners except Disney at the end of the 2029-30 season, with Disney holding an additional year. Murdoch said that after preliminary discussions, Fox decided not to reach a new deal, and the contract will run through the end of the 2029 season, with Fox to approach the NFL again closer to the 2030 season.
The NFL held preliminary talks with Fox and CBS parent Paramount Skydance to eliminate the exit clauses and raise rights costs. Without such clauses, the agreements would extend to the end of the 2033-34 season. In early negotiations with Paramount, the NFL discussed increasing rights costs by nearly US$1 billion per year in exchange for a CBS guarantee through 2034. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in 2025 that the league's rights are relatively undervalued. The NBA reached an 11-year, US$77 billion deal in 2024, nearly tripling its rights revenue. The NFL signed media rights agreements exceeding US$100 billion in 2021. NFL programming is the most-watched on television.
Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said earlier this week that the NFL has not approached Disney about a new agreement.
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