Back in 2021, former ESPN and Meadowlark Media executive John Skipper predicted that a paywalled Super Bowl was in our future.
By 2024, with streaming services having already dipped their toes in NFL playoff one-offs and Prime Video acquiring Thursday Night Football, Skipper got even more specific, predicting that a streaming-only Super Bowl was less than a decade away.
Many scoffed at those predictions when they happened, but with the NFL on the verge of opting out of its current media deals in a few years, and the reach of streaming services growing every day, it’s not a prediction to be scoffed at anymore. Even NFL Roger Goodell has admitted “anything is possible” when asked about a streaming-only Super Bowl in the 2030s.
Sports media insider Andrew Marchand tackled the topic on this week’s episode of Marchand & Meterparel, saying that while CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC/ESPN have done a great job as rotating Super Bowl broadcasters, the NFL is always going to consider how much bigger they can get.
The idea of Amazon Prime Video or a streamer getting a Super Bowl …. look at the past processes …. https://t.co/6q6klPyjK3 pic.twitter.com/s9juzqLiqD
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) February 16, 2026
“I would say that it is possible, number one. What I think is definite is that the conversation will be had,” said Marchand. “…At the end of the day, the NFL goes for the most money and the most reach. Now, they’ll emphasize the reach because you’re not going to say [it’s the money], but at the least, Amazon is going to be in there in terms of talking about a Super Bowl. And I think maybe YouTube and Netflix bring it up. I don’t know. I mean, look, they could jump the line. Netflix could say, ‘Look, we’re going to spend this crazy amount of money. We want the Super Bowl.'”
Marchand points to the normalization of TNF on Prime Video and says it should signal to everyone that playoff games, and even conference championship games, could be up for grabs in the next media deal.
“The way the NFL generally has worked, if you look at Thursday Night Football, for example,” he said. “When Amazon first got on Thursday Night Football, Fox had the broadcast, and then you could stream it on Amazon Prime Video. And they did that for a few years before Amazon Prime Video got it fully. Now we’ve seen Amazon have Thursday Night Football, which is something that nobody really thinks twice about. It’s just Thursday nights on Amazon Prime Video. They got a playoff game, and they got the Bears and the Packers this year. I mean, the idea that they’ll somehow get in the divisional rounds seems pretty, I’m not going to say obvious, but I don’t think that would be a big statement if you or I said that.
“The conference championships, I feel like if I’m the NFL, that’s something I’m putting up for auction,” added Marchand. “My friends at Fox and CBS might not like this. Why do they rotate those two when everything else is basically up for grabs for everybody?”
The ripple effects of the NFL’s next media rights deal will be massive, not just for its broadcasting partners but for the TV and streaming industries at large. Whether the Super Bowl goes streaming-only sooner or later is just part of that, but it will send a significant message if and when it does.