SBJ Football: NFL will require new sponsors to promote internationally

For 35 days this summer, it seemed the unstoppable NFL had finally met its match: an effective $14.1 billion legal judgment. Things got dark quickly after the federal jury returned a verdict in the “NFL Sunday Ticket” antitrust trial on June 27 -- insiders did the math and realized almost every team would owe more than twice their annual operating profit if the verdict stood.

The league pleaded for delays from the court, arguing that even the premium on an appeals bond would be damaging. Some owners started to wonder if they could force a salary cap haircut, inflaming union tensions. It seemed the whole world of sports on TVwas up for review. 

Then, suddenly, the problem was gone. As soon as he was able, Judge Philip Gutierrez overturned the verdict, ruling for the NFL as a matter of law. 

But the NFL is far from out of the woods. Both sides have appealed parts of the case to the famously NFL-hostile 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and it’s easy to imagine those judges ordering a new trial or otherwise keeping the case against the NFL alive (it’s also not difficult to imagine the NFL turning to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it's equally plausible the conservative majority would take the NFL’s side).

Whatever happens on appeal, it’ll be slow, and any clear-cut resolution to this case is likely a headline for 2026, not 2025. In the meantime, everything else in the sports TV business is shifting by the hour. 

“The world of TV distribution is moving so rapidly, that market realities will have shifted by the time this case is resolved, which may make the outcome irrelevant to anyone else in the industry other than a defendant who might pay a large verdict,” said Jodi Balsam, a Brooklyn Law school professor and former NFL counsel. 

So as we take stock of the past year, does this case have any lasting impact we can measure right now? Maybe a limited one, Balsam said. “Does this change the NFL’s business strategy going forward? No, not to the extent it’s going to stop pooling TV rights. That’s not going to change,” she noted. “What might change is how they price it, how accessible it is and how it works for fans so they can reinforce the pro-competitive justification for pooling television rights.”

The year NFL International got really real 

In 2024, the NFL put to rest any notion that its international expansion was experimental or contingent; it’s now clear this is the dominant strategy for long-term league growth on Commissioner Roger Goodell’s list. This escalation started at the end of 2023, when owners approved a more aggressive international rotation.

But within eight months, Goodell and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt were talking about expanding again, seeking to play 16 games overseas annually in the near term. This year, the NFL played for the first time in Brazil (its fifth country for a regular-season game) and announced a game coming next year in Spain (its sixth country).

Perhaps more importantly, this was the year we started seeing business deals reflect overseas -- proof this is not just a traveling show, but a strategy baked into every part of the league. Netflix’s entrance into NFL rights was done partly for its international distribution, with the league hoping to turn Christmas Day gridiron football into a global (well, at least European) affair. 

Also, Nike’s sponsorship extension was hung up in part due to the NFL’s insistence on a guaranteed minimum spend on international football promotion. Ultimately, the deal got done under new Nike CEO Elliott Hill, with Nike’s annual fee to the NFL growing by 65% immediately, from $129 million in 2024 to $212 million in 2025, with more routine escalators going forward in the life of the deal, sources said.

What’s next? All future NFL sponsors will be expected to join the international push, Roger Goodell told SBJ exclusively. “When your intention is to be global, you need your partners to be global with a focus on how you continue to expand the game,” Goodell said. “And most of our partners have global reach in some fashion.”

Another new market? NFL exec Peter O’Reilly said the league expects to play eight games abroad in 2025, including the Jaguars’ team-led deal for Wembley Stadium. If he’s right, there’s one unaccounted for. Do the math: three in London, one each in Brazil, Germany, Spain and Mexico. The smart money is on Ireland.  

The international expansion is not intrinsically tied to the other major strategic growth topic -- an 18th regular season game – but owners and logisticians would certainly find it easier to play more often abroad if their existing home slate were protected (see below for more on this).

Private equity and M&A

Like we saw when sports betting deals spread across the industry a few years earlier, the NFL commands the spotlight even when it’s miles away from the cutting edge. Major leagues began allowing institutional investment in teams five years earlier, but the NFL’s August rule change allowing it was covered as one of the big business stories of the year-- sports or otherwise. 

Two teams, the Bills and the Dolphins, have taken PE investments, and more will come in 2025. But arguably, the bigger story is the combination of PE interest and a suddenly more active market for traditional limited partnership stakes -- the Chargers, Bills, Eagles and Raiders all sold significant minority interests this fall, addressing a wide range of challenges in the meantime.

The PE policy was just one tool to loosen up a club equity marketplace that had become alarmingly illiquid, and Goodell said he’s pleased to see more people with interest in owning parts of teams and for those deals to get done. It’s also diversifying the ownership ranks; what used to be a tight club of rich football-first families now includes Tom Brady, Egon Durban, Joe Tsai and a bevy of others.

“We wanted to be able to do both,” Goodell said. “The exciting thing for us and for me personally, just in the context of this, is that you're seeing that in both levels. We have two transactions in the private equity policy and we have several limited positions [selling]. So I think the idea that both of those are happening is really important.” 

Stadiums: One more thing to watch as we turn the calendar page -- will the league’s two mega-market stadium challenges get solved? There’s undeniable momentum for Josh Harris’ Commanders, while George McCaskey’s Bears appear to be facing a 3rd-and-long situation on their stadium front. 

NFL Media: More than three years later, the NFL still hasn’t found a major strategic partner for NFL Media. The evolving media landscape has only made it harder, but the pending acquisition of NFL rights holder CBS Sports’ parent Paramount Global by Skydance may be a good opportunity to change that in 2025.

International schedule expansion: We can expect to learn a lot more about the NFLPA’s approach to a longer regular season -- it appears to have a lot of leverage right now -- including how quickly it might happen and what it will cost owners in terms of union concessions.

Private equity: Expect more PE deals, and more NFL owners divesting meaningful minority stakes either to PE funds or wealthy individuals. Though we’re still waiting for a lot of information out of the  much-hyped consortium of funds fronted by former NFLer Curtis Martin.

• The Ravens, Steelers, Texans and Chiefs will be playing in "NFL Holiday Remix" games on Dec. 21 and Christmas Day, wearing a festive, holiday-inspired patch on their uniforms

• On the SBJ Sports Media Podcast this week, co-hosts Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane chat with NFL VP/Broadcasting Onnie Bose ahead of tonight’s Broncos-Chargers game, which was the first time flex scheduling was used for “Thursday Night Football.” Next, EA Sports GM and SVP/Publishing Andrea Hopelain dropped in to provide insight on the upcoming “Madden NFL Cast” on Peacock around Chiefs-Texans on Saturday.

• SBJ's Joe Lemire notes the "Madden NFL Cast" on Peacock will blend live action with video game elements with help from Next Gen Stats and EA Sports’ game engine.

• NFL VP and Chief of Staff for Football Operations Jade Burroughs will join the USA Fencing board as independent directors starting Jan. 1, reports SBJ's Rachel Axon.