The NFL has a tough year last season, with the country suffering most of the devastating waves of Covid – 19 around January at the beginning of 2021. The NFL hosted just over 1 million fans in 2020, down from 18 million the year before.
The NFL’s national revenues, constituted primarily of TV and sponsorships, rose $422.4 million to nearly $10 billion in 2020, at a time the league and the rest of the world were braving some of the worst of the pandemic.
The NFL played all of its games, though it often resorted to juggling the schedule as teams were hit with COVID-19 infections. But closing all 256 regular-season contests and the playoffs guaranteed the league would continue to receive the income of its national broadcast and sponsorship contracts (sponsorship represents more than 10 percent of national revenues).
The NFL has finalized a new round of broadcast rights agreements, providing the league with a financial windfall and fans with more options to watch the games. Amazon, CBS, ESPN/ABC, Fox, and NBC, which all currently broadcast NFL games, have signed deals with the league through 2033.
The NFL figure is an estimate from the Packers’ earnings release. The club reported $309.2 million of national revenues. Because the NFL shares national revenues equally among the 32 teams, the total national take comes to $9.89 billion.
Also, the NFL’s new contracts with its broadcast partners are slated to take effect in the coming years, boosting national revenue toward the middle of the decade and beyond as well.
The new agreements, which were announced on Thursday and will commence from the 2023 season, include television and expanded streaming rights. The deal is said to be worth $113 billion.
“Looking ahead, I have great confidence for two main reasons – the long-term collective bargaining agreement with the players, and the long-term broadcast agreements,” CEO Mark Murphy said.