Sunday Ticket Commercial Deal, Commanders Sale Heating Up, Goodell Defends TNF Flex, and Other NFL Bullets

March 29, 2023, by Patrick K. Flowers NFL

The NFL announced on Tuesday how they plan on delivering their Sunday Ticket package to commercial establishments such as bars, restaurants, and hotels. But first, a little BN housekeeping and a sweet opportunity for you.

We’re hosting a live event on April 6 at HVAC Pub in Wrigleyville. The event includes a live Q&A with Luis and me, some baseball talk with David Kaplan, and a Q&A with former “Rookie of the Year” Thomas Ian Nicolas. Plus food and drink, and our friends from Obvious Shirts will be in the house. It’s $25 bucks to attend, however, we’re giving away eight (8) tickets to the event and two $100 gift cards to Fanatics! All you have to do is click here and enter your name, email, and location. Easy stuff and some great giveaways!

Alright, on to the football stuff. With the NFL awarding its Sunday Ticket package to YouTube TV, a streaming service, some wondered how they would deliver it to commercial venues this season. So, on Tuesday, the league announced in a press release they have partnered with RedBird Capital Partners to create EverPass Media, “a new media platform which will hold the exclusive rights to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to bars, restaurants, hotels and other commercial venues in the United States starting with the 2023 NFL season.”

“The multi-year license of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games to EverPass Media will provide access to NFL Sunday Ticket for commercial businesses across the country. Going forward, the service will be available on a non-exclusive basis through all participating cable and satellite providers.”

So, have no fear; the NFL Sunday Ticket package will be available at your favorite watering hole or restaurant in 2023 and beyond.

The NFL and RedBird Capital Partners have formed EverPass Media, which will hold the exclusive rights to distribute Sunday Ticket to bars, restaurants, hotels, and other commercial venues in the United States.

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— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) March 29, 2023

Calais Campbell is signing with the Atlanta Falcons. Campbell is heading to Atlanta on a one-year deal after spending the past three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Campbell is 36 (he will be 37 when the season starts) and enters with 99 career sacks. Campbell can become the 42nd player in NFL history to eclipse the century mark with one sack for the Falcons this season.

Campbell is entering his 16th season in the NFL. He’s recorded 809 tackles, 165 tackles for loss, 99 sacks, and 16 forced fumbles. The veteran pass rusher drew interest from Jacksonville, Buffalo, and the Jets before choosing the Falcons.

NFL owners will vote on whether or not to allow the “flexing” of Thursday Night Football games this season. However, they will do so in May now. The vote, expected to come this week at the owner’s meetings, was tabled. Still, the owners approved a change allowing teams to play two TNF games in one season.

The Thursday Night Football flex scheduling proposal was tabled until May, per NFL EVP/Chief Media and Business Officer Brian Rolapp.

However, owners did approve a change that will allow a team to play two TNF games in a season.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 28, 2023

So, what exactly does the May vote cover? First, the vote is intended to rid fans of the late-season clunkers that have been a staple of TNF. If approved, the league could shift teams from a Sunday afternoon game to Thursday night in Weeks 14 to 17 with 15 days’ notice.

The vote would be excellent for the fans and Amazon (who owns the rights to the TNF broadcasts). However, not everyone is thrilled with the idea. On Tuesday, Giants owner John Mara told reporters he finds the idea “abusive.” While the concept of a team having to play two TNF games, giving players two short weeks in a season that’s already been extended by one game in recent years, does sound like a raw deal for them, the NFL is an entertainment business. As is Amazon, which pays the NFL 1.32 billion per year for the rights to broadcast TNF. So, watching the Texans and Cardinals in primetime during the season’s playoff push doesn’t work for the NFL, Amazon, or the fans.

NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell defended the TNF flex scheduling on Tuesday:

“Providing the best matchups for our fans is part of what we do. It’s part of what our scheduling has always focused on. Flex has been a part of that,” Goodell said. “We are very judicious with it and are very careful with it and we look at all of the impacts to that. Before those decisions are made I think we average, in the years we’ve done it, about a flex-and-a-half a year. It can vary any particular year. It’s a very important thing for us to balance with the season-ticket holders and in-stadium audience. We have millions of fans who also watch on television. Reaching them is a balance.”

The NFL will need 24 of 32 owners to vote for the TNF flex for it to pass in May.

In other news from the owner’s meetings, the potential sale of the Washington Commanders ramped up on Tuesday. Not one, but two different bidders submitted fully-financed $6 billion bids to purchase the Commanders. The first bid came from a group led by Josh Harris, including Magic Johnson. The second came from Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.

Some believe that a sale agreement could be in place between Snyder and one of the bidders before the NFL Draft next month. Any sale requires 24 yes votes for approval following a review by the NFL’s finance committee.