NBC may be on shaky ground with the NFL
NBC may be on shaky ground with the NFL
As the league makes the rounds to its media partners for new deals, NBC has a tough decision to make.
The NFL is taking a carrot-and-stick approach in its new round of negotiations with TV partners. The league wants new deals in place with current partners ahead of the 2026 season, despite the fact that, on paper, its existing contracts with them don’t expire until 2033.
Embedded in those contracts is an opt-out clause that will let the NFL take its rights to the open market in 2029, if it chooses, but it will waive that clause if partners come back to the table now. Where does NBC stand ahead of new negotiations with the NFL? We’ll dive in below.
What you need to know about negotiations between NBC and the NFL
Does NBC have a package of NFL games currently?
Yes, NBC is the home of the NFL’s “Sunday Night Football” package. As a primetime spotlight game, “SNF” frequently features the best game in a given week, with marquee matchups and the ability to confer with the league to flex games in and out of its timeslot as early as Week 5. NBC also offers playoff games in the Wild Card and Divisional rounds, and is one of the outlets in the rotation to host the Super Bowl. NBC’s last Super Bowl was Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots in Feb. 2026.
Do NBC’s NFL games stream anywhere?
Yes! Aside from live TV streaming services that include access to NBC, fans can watch “Sunday Night Football” with a subscription to Peacock. Live sports are available to stream on two of three Peacock plans: the ad-supported Premium plan, starting at $11 per month, or the ad-free Premium Plus plan, costing $17 per month.
Where do things stand between the NFL and NBC?
From a ratings standpoint, the league doesn’t have much room to complain about its relationship with NBC; “SNF” is the most-watched primetime show on television in the United States, and has been for 15 consecutive years. The “Football Night in America” studio show that precedes “SNF” has been the No. 1 weekly studio show for 20 consecutive years, and games themselves averaged 23.5 million viewers each in 2025.
But NBC has a lot of financial obligations to meet, and having to pay around 50% more for its current NFL package would be a tough pill for the company to swallow. That’s the rights fee increase the league has approached fellow broadcast partner CBS with, and most analysts expect it to ask other partners for an equivalent raise. Currently, NBC pays around $2 billion per season for its NFL rights, so that increase would bring its pricetag to $3 billion.
The problem is that NBC is also paying $2.5 billion per season for its current package of NBA games, and is on the hook for that deal for the next decade. Speculation has arisen that NBC might surrender its package altogether, rather than pay the extra $1 billion annually that the NFL is likely to ask for.
Will NBC get more NFL games in its next deal?
The NFL has a package of international games to market to distributors, and wants to carve out a game for Thanksgiving Eve, as well. At the moment, most of the talk surrounding NBC is speculation on whether it will lose games, not add more. But if that changes, The Streamable will keep viewers abreast of all the changes.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” “The Office,” and original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports and NBC programming, including the NFL, MLB, WWE, the Olympics, the Premier League, NASCAR, the French Open, college football and basketball, and the PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.