- Owners yet to agree on a model for private equity
- Peacock to exclusively stream NFL’s first ever regular season game in Brazil
- Two midweek Christmas Day games confirmed for the 2024/25 season
National Football League (NFL) team owners have postponed a vote on whether to allow private equity firms to buy stakes in their franchises.
A committee comprising five owners had been tasked with setting out a model that would facilitate equity investment into the sport but has yet to finalise a framework. However, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ), the group presented a preliminary proposal that was said to receive less pushback than anticipated, with no formal action taken.
Details outlined by the proposal, such as which firms would be allowed to invest, the amount of equity they can buy and how many teams they will be permitted to buy into, will still need to be agreed as part of the policy before a vote can be taken.
“They seem very close to sort of outlining an approach, and that approach is something we want to make sure the membership was aligned with,” Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner said at the NFL owners meeting in Orlando. “I think that’s true, and now we have a lot of work to do to take that approach into reality.”
Goodell added that the league was in no rush to approve a final policy, with formal approval of the proposal possibly to take place “closer to October”.
Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, who sits on the committee, said the NFL’s model would have some differences from private equity models used by other professional leagues. He added that the presence of institutional investors would be beneficial when it comes to funding stadium real estate development, as well as any other potential league projects.
“I would say that what we’ll end up with will definitely have a focused NFL aspect to it, but certainly we’ve learned a lot from what the other leagues have done and it’s quite possible we’d include much of their thinking in where we end up from a policy standpoint,” said Hunt.
The NFL has also confirmed NBC’s Peacock will exclusively stream its first ever regular season game set to be held in Brazil. The opening week match-up scheduled for 6th September, which will feature the Philadelphia Eagles, will be the NFL’s first regular season game held in South America.
Separately, Amazon Prime Video will exclusively broadcast a wildcard playoff round game next season. The announcement, which was first reported last month, will see Prime Video become the second streaming service to exclusively show a NFL playoff game, following Peacock’s broadcast of the Chiefs’ win over the Miami Dolphins last season.
The Chiefs-Dolphins match-up was the biggest livestreamed event ever in the US, with nearly 28 million viewers tuning in. Subscription tracking specialist Antenna later reported that the game drove 2.8 million sign-ups for the NBC-owned streaming service.
“As media consumption habits evolve, the NFL continues to work with our partners to put our games on digital platforms where our fans are increasingly spending their time,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution.
“The viewership success of both Thursday Night Football on Prime Video and the historic Wild Card game on Peacock last season are strong indicators our streaming distribution is resonating with our fans.”
NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said it was “exciting” for Peacock to show the Brazil game, which will come after its coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Meanwhile, Jay Marine, global head of sports and ads for Prime Video, added that the streaming service was “proud” to expand its relationship with the league.
As well as announcing its streaming rights deals, the NFL confirmed it will play two games on Christmas Day, which this year falls on a Wednesday. The league held three games on the holiday last season, with all three match-ups attracting strong ratings, leading to speculation the NFL could look to expand its festive schedule – even if it meant more midweek games.
“When we saw the viewership from this past year, really our fans spoke,” Schroeder said as part of the announcement. “We certainly saw and believe that they are very much enjoying and wanting NFL football on Christmas.
“From what we’ve seen the last couple years is really some unprecedent growth, and not just on Christmas, on Thanksgiving, too. The last couple of years have had the highest-regular season game ever viewed in the regular season.
“That mindset, that opportunity, that belief we have that football brings people together – that’s even truer on these big holidays that happen throughout the year.”
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