Sports fans know there are strong ties between the NFL and ESPN. After all, ESPN has been the home of Monday Night Football since 2006. During the NFL season, you can’t turn on ESPN and not hear some sort of football coverage in the span of 15 minutes.
While ESPN has made a great effort to provide NFL coverage, we could soon see this longtime partnership evolve in a much bigger way.
Related: Washington star receiver Rome Odunze declares for 2024 NFL Draft: Highlighting 4 ideal landing spots
New proposal would give ESPN control of NFL Network, and more
According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, ESPN and the NFL are entered into “advanced talks” that could lead to the league purchasing an equity take in the longtime sports television network.
Under this proposal, ESPN would end up gaining control of NFL Media, including NFL Network. ESPN’s goal has long been to go direct-to-consumer by 2025, but Marchand’s report suggests that the plan could accelerate to the end of 2024 instead.
These contract discussions have reportedly gotten so far along that now NFL owners and the NFL Players Association are being informed of the possible agreement. Because of the league’s revenue-sharing plan, any transfers of equity would have to involve current team owners and players.
While the discussions have reached advanced stages, an agreement could take months to finalize.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders linked to highly respected coach due to strong ties with Tom Brady