ESPN, NFL Reportedly Agree to Billion-Dollar Deal
After rumors swirled recently that the NFL could sell some of its top media properties to ESPN, it appears a deal has been reached.
According to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, ESPN and the NFL have agreed to a deal that "is potentially worth billions," and an official announcement is expected next week.
With the new deal, ESPN is "expected to have access to RedZone, NFL Network, seven more regular-season games, the NFL's fantasy football business, potential to integrate special features (including betting) and potentially more assets," Marchand reports.
For the NFL, Marchand notes the league "may receive up to 10 percent of ESPN equity."
ESPN is set to offer customers a "direct-to-consumer service" that will allow subscribers to watch all ESPN programming — live games included — through the company's app.
The expected cost for that service is $29.99 per month, and ESPN hopes that will put a halt to declining subscription numbers.
Before the ESPN-NFL deal can fully go through, it will require approval from regulators, a process that could take as long as nine months on the lower end to as long as a year on the longer end.
Upon hearing of the deal, not all NFL fans were on board with it, with many expressing concern about RedZone in particular.
"So much for commercial free football," one commenter wrote. "RIP to RedZone."
"So it's the end of RedZone, we got it," another comment said. "We can't have nice things."
"About to cost 10X and be filled with even more ads," one reply predicted.
"This is bad for football," another detractor of the deal said.
It remains to be seen how much things will change under this new deal, but clearly there isn't much optimism out there.
Related: Fans Push Back Against ESPN’s Reported RedZone, NFL Network Move