Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has floated the idea that the league could one day end up parting ways with its biggest broadcast rights holder, Fox, due to political pressure
13:26 ET, 11 Jun 2026
The FOX Sports logo is placed on a broadcast camera before a regular season game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears on December 20, 2025, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Mike Florio has mooted the idea of a breakup between Fox and the NFL(Image: Getty Images)
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has floated the idea that the NFL could end its relationship with Fox due to political pressure.
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice launched a probe into the NFL's media rights deal to investigate whether the league's distribution model was forcing fans to overpay. As things stand, to watch every single NFL game during the upcoming 2026 season, football fans will need subscriptions to Netflix, Prime Video, NFL Network, NBC, FOX, CBS, ESPN+, Paramount+, YouTube TV, and NFL Sunday Ticket, which would cost them over $1,000 per year.
Last week, Roger Goodell was called to testify before the House Judiciary Committee by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, but declined. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee held a two-hour hearing on the NFL's Antitrust Exemption, with Republicans and Democrats voicing their frustration over the league's decision to move games from free TV to subscription platforms.
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"When beneficiaries of an exemption begin using it to restrict access, increase prices, and strengthen their own market power beyond what Congress intended, lawmakers, Congress, have an obligation to reconsider whether that exemption remains justified," said Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), chair of the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee.
The NFL must comply with the Sports Broadcasting Act, passed by Congress in 1961. The SBA allows the league to sell its media rights to multiple broadcast networks but not to streaming services.
During the hearing, Clay Travis, the founder of OutKick, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch and Fox, branded the NFL as a price gouger. "Every single day, sports fans are getting gouged now for the opportunity of watching their favorite teams," Travis told the hearing.
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"Fans now pay far more money every year for something that by law in 1961 you all guaranteed for them should be free. The NFL, quite clearly, is violating the plain intent of the law."
And now Florio, in a post on Pro Football Talk, has suggested that the political tensions surrounding the NFL's broadcasting rights could lead to a breakup between the league and Fox.
"Looming over the hearing was the reality that much of the current political scrutiny of the NFL’s antitrust exemption traces to Fox owner Rupert Murdoch, whose network faces a potential effort by the league to get more money under contracts that apply through the 2029 season," Florio wrote.
He added: "Perhaps not coincidentally, Murdoch employee Clay Travis testified at the hearing — and he pulled no punches about the impact of the NFL’s embrace of streaming on football fans. Although most of what he said is accurate, none of it will mend fences between NFL and Fox. And that could further jeopardize Fox’s ability to retain an NFL package after 2029."
Commissioner of the NFL Roger Goodell attends Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on February 8, 2026.
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Roger Goodell declined an invitation to speak to Congress(Image: Getty Images)
With Fox and Murdoch unhappy about the NFL's decision to farm out more games to streaming platforms, that could end up with them losing their NFL package come 2030 in Florio's mooted world.
It would be a stunning move if the NFL and Fox did end up parting ways, and it would require NBC and ABC to step in and take over the vacated Sunday afternoon games.
Florio continued: "Maybe that’s how it eventually goes. Fox exits. NBC or ABC takes the traditional NFC package (which is no longer strictly tied to NFC games), and NBC or ABC assumes Monday Night Football. Prime Video adds the Sunday night games.
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"That would leave the Thursday night window. Would Prime Video keep it? Would Netflix want it?"