In terms of American popular culture, the NFL is the biggest game in town, as ratings for game broadcasts prove week after week. Its broadcast contracts with CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC, and Prime Video make the game essentially ubiquitous, and the league’s broadcast partners pay a collective $110 billion for the right to distribute games. Those deals are currently slated to run through the 2032-33 season, but there are increasing signs that the league wants to start talking about new TV deals a lot sooner than that; in fact, negotiations could start as soon as next year.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke about the fact that both the league and its media partners could have plenty of incentive to start negotiating sooner rather than later. The league has an opt-out clause that allows it to get out of current media deals at the end of the 2029-30 season, but Goodell floated the idea that talks could start as soon as 2026.

“I think our partners would want to sit down and talk to us at any time, and we continue to dialogue with them. I like that opportunity,” Goodell said. “Obviously, it’s not going to happen this year. But it could happen as early as next year. That could happen.”

Currently, the league has Sunday afternoon packages on CBS and Fox, “Sunday Night Football” on NBC, “Monday Night Football” on ESPN and occasionally ABC and ESPN2, and “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video. There’s little doubt that all of those broadcasters would jump at the chance to lock in the NFL for another few years before having to board the negotiations carousel once again. But the list of NFL partners is growing all the time; so far this season, the league has played a game on the free YouTube platform, and will also offer a doubleheader on Netflix on Christmas for the second year in a row.

Goodell highlighted the changing nature of TV and broadcasting as a reason to start talking with partners ahead of the contractually planned dates.

“The reason why we felt so strongly about the option is the landscape is changing,” the commissioner explained. “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.”

Goodell also admitted that he felt that the NFL was leaving money on the table, especially after watching the NBA sign a $76 billion agreement with partners in 2024. The league is continuously responsible for between 70 and 95 of the top-rated 100 broadcasts on television every year, and it feels that a deal which reflects that fact financially is appropriate.

What does all this mean for fans? The calendar year 2026 could be a wild ride for NFL followers. Not only is the league hoping to close a major deal with ESPN to sell the channel NFL Network and other properties in exchange for an equity stake, but it could also be sitting down with programmers to renegotiate its broadcasting contracts.