Talks between ESPn and the NFL concerning the Worldwide Leader in Sports’ acquisition of NFL media have been gaining traction since last month, according to Awful Announcing.
In his podcast Marchand Sports Media, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand revealed just how big of a deal the potential acquisition could be. Marchand revealed that the deal could be for as much as $2 billion and even see the NFL walk away with an ownership stake in the network.
“When we look back in 10, 15 years if this deal goes down, this could be a very significant point for ESPN’s growth when you’re adding it all up, and we’re really in a full streaming world,” Marchand said.
“I think it’s pretty significant whether it happens in the next few months or not.”
ESPN has added incentive to get this deal done now prior to the release of its direct-to-consumer app this fall.
“When you look at Netflix and Amazon, they don’t necessarily need the NFL. Those businesses aren’t based off the NFL,” Marchand added.
“So if you’re ESPN, you get that relationship even deeper for the long-term with the NFL. I think it makes some sense, and it could be a game-changer.”
It’ll be interesting to see how big the final number is if a deal gets done.
