When the NBA announced its new 11-year, $77-billion media rights deal with ESPN\/ABC, NBCUniversal, and Amazon\u2019s Prime Video, the move was widely well-received, particularly for returning the league to longtime partner NBC.<\/p>\n
Not everyone was thrilled with the NBA on NBC revival.<\/p>\n
According to Puck\u2019s John Ourand, some NFL brass were \u201cirritated\u201d by the deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cExecutives at the NFL are irritated. That deal irritated them,\u201d Ourand told Andrew Marchand<\/a> during an appearance on Marchand\u2019s podcast<\/a>. \u201cThe idea that NBC is paying more for Sunday Night Basketball than for Sunday Night Football. These are people and personalities, and it makes the executives at the NFL crazy that that happens. So could they come in and just start to turn the screw because of that NBA deal?\u201d<\/p>\n NBC is paying roughly\u00a0$2.5 billion annually for NBA rights,\u00a0including\u00a0Sunday Night Basketball, while it currently pays around $2 billion annually for\u00a0Sunday Night Football rights.<\/p>\n Ourand\u2019s comments come during a discussion about the NFL\u2019s presumed opt-out of its current media rights deals in 2029<\/a> (2o30 with ESPN). That includes the NFL\u2019s current arrangement with NBC Sports, highlighted by Sunday Night Football. As Ourand and Marchand discuss on the podcast, the NFL isn\u2019t exactly known for a \u201clive and let live\u201d attitude when it comes to such issues, and if they feel as though they\u2019re not getting what they deserve financially, they\u2019ll be sure to let you know about it.<\/p>\n