The National Football League (NFL) is currently in discussions with Skydance Media, under the ownership of David Ellison, and the private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners. These talks may involve the potential sale of NFL Media and its associated NFL Network cable channel, as reported by Bloomberg.
In addition, the preliminary discussions might also consider the possibility of Paramount Global acquiring the NFL's interest in Skydance Sports. It is noteworthy that the NFL maintains a long-standing partnership with Paramount, which is on course to complete its merger with Skydance by the next year.
Although the NFL's agreement with Paramount's CBS Network extends until 2033, it contains a "change of control" provision. This allows the NFL the flexibility to seek out other media partnerships if desired.
Despite the presence of this clause, it is unlikely that the NFL will choose to replace CBS as its broadcast ally. Nonetheless, this provision has sparked broader conversations regarding potential business collaborations between the NFL, Skydance, and RedBird, according to Bloomberg.
