The NFL will nearly double its media revenue to more than $10 billion a season with new rights agreements announced Thursday, including a deal with Amazon Prime Video that gives the streaming service exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football” beginning in 2022.
The league took in $5.9 billion a year in its current contracts. It will get $113 billion over the 11 seasons of the new deals that begin in 2023, an increase of 80% over the previous such period, a person with direct knowledge of the contracts told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the money figures were not made public.
“This provides our fans with greater access. We want to provide our games on more platforms than ever before,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said.
Amazon has partnered with the league to stream Thursday night games since 2017, but it will take over the entire package from Fox, which has had it since 2018 after CBS and NBC shared the package for two seasons. Amazon streamed a Week 16 Saturday game between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals last year that was seen by an estimated 11.2 total viewers and had an average minute audience of 4.8 million. That was a record for the largest audience to stream an NFL game.
“Over the last five years we have started the migration to streaming. This is another large step in this direction,” said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, chairman of the league’s media committee. “Our fans want this option and understand streaming is the future. We have created a unique hybrid of viewing options and streaming. This should provide a smooth transition to the future of content distribution.”
Games will continue to air on CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN, while ABC will have a limited schedule of games as well as returning to the Super Bowl rotation (two games) for the first time since the 2005 season. ESPN’s deal was scheduled to end after 2021, while the others expired a year later, but ESPN will have a bridge deal for 2022.
With the exception of Amazon, the new deals will begin with the 2023 season and expire after the 2033 schedule. Games on Amazon will also be carried on over-the-air broadcast stations in the cities of the participating teams, which is also the case with games aired on ESPN and NFL Network.
Besides the two Super Bowls, ESPN and ABC will also gain the rights to flex games to “Monday Night Football,” a right only previously given to NBC when flex scheduling was introduced in 2006.
The contract also expands digital rights for the other networks. ESPN+ will air one of the London games and NBC’s “Peacock” platform will also have exclusive games.
TEXANS: Three masseuses have sued Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson for alleged sexual assault, accusing the star player of a “disturbing pattern” of behavior toward women.
In lawsuits filed this week, two of the woman claim that Watson touched them with his penis during massages last year, and the third alleges he forced her to perform oral sex.
Watson, 25, has broadly denied that he acted inappropriately and said he looks forward to clearing his name.
“I have never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect,” the quarterback said Tuesday in a statement posted to Twitter. His attorney and agent did not immediately respond to a requests for comment Thursday.
Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva declined to comment on whether any of the alleged sexual assaults were reported to police, saying the department does not identify people who have not been charged with a crime.
The women, who are not named in the lawsuits, are represented by Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee. He did not immediately respond to requests from comment Thursday, but wrote in one of the lawsuits that “Watson’s behavior is part of a disturbing pattern of preying on vulnerable woman.”
According to the suits, the women live in Texas, Oregon and Georgia and work giving massages. Two claimed that during massages in March and August of last year Watson was sexually suggestive, exposed himself and moved toward them in ways that caused his penis to touch their hands. The lawsuit from the third woman describes similar behavior and alleges that during a massage in December, Watson ”coerced” her into giving him oral sex. The woman did not consent and then ”blacked out for a few minutes from fear,” the lawsuit states.
Each of the women is suing for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as court costs.
Texans spokesman Omar Majzoub said that the team first learned about the allegations against Watson through a social media post Tuesday.
“We take accusations of this nature that involve anyone with the Houston Texans organization seriously,” Majzoub said in a Wednesday statement. He declined to comment further Thursday.
Watson is one of the league’s top quarterbacks and led the NFL in yards passing last season. He signed a four-year, $156 million contract extension with the Texans last offseason, but he became unhappy with the direction of the team as Houston sunk to 4-12 and he requested a trade in January.
CHARGERS: San Diego found a replacement for Hunter Henry, agreeing to terms on a one-year contract with tight end Jared Cook.
Cook, who spent the past two seasons with New Orleans, will be going into his 13th season, but he has played some of his best football the past three years. He had 37 receptions for 504 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
DOLPHINS: Receiver Will Fuller agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Miami, which was eager to acquire a deep threat to stretch the field for Tua Tagovailoa.
Center Matt Skura, a starter with Baltimore the past four seasons, also agreed to a one-year deal with Miami.
Fuller is coming off his best season of his five-year career, all in Houston, even though he was suspended for the final five games for using performance-enhancers. He made 53 catches for 879 yards and eight touchdowns, all career highs, and had five 100-yard games.
BILLS: Buffalo is bringing in former Chicago Bears starter Mitch Trubisky on a one-year contract to be Josh Allen’s primary backup.
BRONCOS: Denver agreed to rescind its restricted free agent tender on fourth-year running back Phillip Lindsay, removing its right to match any offer Lindsay gets on the open market.
Lindsay rushed for 1,037 yards in 2018, when he became the first undrafted offensive rookie voted to the Pro Bowl, and 1,011 yards in 2019. But his production slipped last season to 502 yards on just 118 carries as he dealt with toe and knee injuries that landed him on IR in December.
BROWNS: Cleveland is re-signing free agent returner Jojo Natson, who tore a knee ligament just three games into last season.
On Wednesday night, the Browns agreed to terms on a one-year, $2.3 million contract with wide receiver Rashard Higgins. The 26-year-old caught 39 passes and scored four touchdowns last season, and has a strong on-field connection with quarterback Baker Mayfield.
RAIDERS: Las Vegas have agreed to a two-year deal worth up to $14.5 million with free agent running back Kenyan Drake to complement starter Josh Jacobs.
A person familiar with the deal says Drake will be guaranteed $11 million.
A second person familiar with a separate deal said tight end Derek Carrier has agreed to return to the Raiders on a one-year deal.
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