As the league’s current deal with ESPN for the NFL Draft approaches its expiration after next month’s event, discussions regarding the next media rights deal are intensifying. While it’s uncertain who will host the NFL Draft in 2026 and beyond, we know that Netflix will not be among them, with Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy reporting that the streaming giant has neither submitted a bid nor is expected to do so.
Nonetheless, a streaming component is widely anticipated in the league’s forthcoming NFL Draft rights deal, given its proactive over-the-top strategy. Puck News’ John Ourand previously noted that ESPN, Fox, and Google have all placed bids for next season’s rights. Additionally, McCarthy mentioned that Amazon’s Prime Video is viewed as a “long-shot contender,” although it’s unclear if they have made a formal bid.
Continuing from last summer’s trends, ESPN, Fox, and Google remain the primary contenders for the NFL Draft, which has been broadcast on ESPN since 1980 and the league-owned NFL Network since 2006. Given the league’s history of distributing events across multiple platforms, it will be intriguing to see if they maintain this strategy in the upcoming rights deal, or if one outlet will claim exclusive rights. Notably, Fox lacks its own streaming service, unlike ESPN (with ESPN+ and the upcoming ‘Flagship’ service) and Google (YouTube TV). This raises questions about whether the NFL Draft might air on Fox while also having a streaming presence through Google, or if ESPN would consider sharing its rights with a competitor.
Answers to these questions may emerge in the coming weeks and months as negotiations regarding the NFL’s premier offseason event move into the final stages. For now, one certainty is that Netflix will not be part of the bidding war, despite the impressive success of the streamer’s Christmas Day doubleheader NFL debut.
