The NFL was supposed to have a new TV deal in place with CBS, hiking the annual payout from a cool $2.1 billion to a massive $3 billion, by the start of this 2026 season. Guess what? It hasn’t happened. Everyone was buzzing about this being inevitable early in the year, but here we are in October, and that renegotiated contract is still just a wish.
Ellison’s ‘Foreseeable Future’ Phrase Tells Us Everything
Skydance holds the CBS contract with the NFL, and that deal is currently set to expire after the 2029 season, unless they get an extension done. Skydance Chair & CEO David Ellison has been pretty vocal about the whole thing, though maybe a little too vague for my taste. Appearing on CNBC this past Thursday, Ellison said his company anticipates “being in business with the NFL for the foreseeable future.” And get this, he used that exact same phrase back in March. “Foreseeable future?” C’mon, man! That’s about as specific as telling me it’s gonna rain “sometime” this week. Especially when you consider all the crazy media mergers happening, like Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery just linking up. You’d think clarity would be a priority. Ellison also went on about Paramount having a “great relationship with the NFL,” even hyping up a “record-setting season” in 2025. So, if everything’s so peachy, why isn’t the ink dry on a new, bigger deal?
The Missing $900 Million and Why It Matters
Let’s talk about the money, because that’s what this is all about for the NFL, right? They were expected to pull in an extra $900 million per year from CBS, boosting the annual rate from $2.1 billion to a staggering $3 billion. That kind of cash doesn’t just grow on trees, and it’s a huge chunk of change that was supposed to be rolling in *before* the 2026 season even started. But it just hasn’t materialized. The NFL’s not exactly shy about its financial ambitions; their goal for 2030, or even earlier, is to smash all previous records for broadcast revenue. With Skydance seemingly growing and big media players consolidating, you’d figure this was the perfect moment to lock down a massive new agreement. Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital was even mentioned last week in all this. But for now, that potential record-setting payout for the league is sitting in limbo. We’re all watching to see if that $3 billion actually hits the ledger before the 2029 expiration date starts breathing down their necks.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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