ESPN, NFL finalize billion-dollar media deal after government approval

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1 February 2026 at 08:56

ESPN’s big move for NFL Media assets just got the green light. Government regulators approved the deal late Saturday, and it comes with a massive price tag.

The NFL is grabbing a 10 percent ownership stake in ESPN, which is still worth billions, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.

ESPN takes over NFL Network, absorbs the league’s fantasy football setup, and picks up linear rights to RedZone.

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The game schedule is getting a shakeup too. “Monday Night Football” doubleheaders are gone. Four of those games are heading to NFL Network instead. ESPN ends up with 28 games per season, the most it’s ever had, with seven coming from NFL Network.

The league kept four games for itself and will probably shop them to a streaming service. With that, this fall, ESPN Unlimited subscribers get NFL Network thrown in at the same $29.99 monthly price. Cable and bundled TV packages will still carry it too.

Marchand further reported that the NFL Network employees would officially join ESPN in April, but fans won’t see big changes right away. NFL Network gets folded into ESPN’s streaming platform once the regular season starts.

General view of an ESPN Monday Night Football logo during the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The deal stems from talks that went on for years and got announced last August. It just needed regulatory approval to close. ESPN is leaning hard into this partnership with its first Super Bowl broadcast coming in 2027.

The NFL keeps control of NFL+, RedZone, and its other digital stuff while ESPN tries to build up its streaming numbers.