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The NHL may not be up against an immediate media rights deadline, but Commissioner Gary Bettman appears unwilling to wait around while the NFL potentially reshapes the marketplace.
According to John Ourand of Puck, Bettman has approached both ESPN and TNT Sports about potentially accelerating discussions on the league’s next U.S. media rights agreements. However, the networks reportedly are not eager to move forward until they gain clarity on what the NFL will demand in its next round of negotiations.
With the NFL widely expected to reopen negotiations ahead of schedule this year, other properties are weighing whether striking deals sooner rather than later could preserve leverage before rights fees climb even higher.
The NHL’s current U.S. agreements with ESPN and TNT Sports run through the 2027-28 season. On paper, that timeline offers runway. In practice, uncertainty surrounding the NFL’s next ask creates pressure for leagues to secure commitments before network balance sheets tighten.
ESPN has aggressively fortified its lineup, committing billions to new rights and renewals across multiple properties since reacquiring NHL rights in 2021. TNT Sports has since rebuilt portions of its live portfolio after losing the NBA by adding the French Open, NASCAR and sublicensed College Football Playoff games.
Those spending patterns complicate the NHL’s positioning. If the NFL commands a significant increase as many expect, capital allocation decisions for secondary properties could shift quickly which could affect the NHL.
Internationally, the NHL signed a 12-year extension with Rogers Communications in Canada, though that agreement does not begin until the 2026-27 season. Still, the NHL’s urgency reflects broader industry dynamics. Media rights negotiations no longer occur in isolation. Each league’s strategy increasingly hinges on how others move, particularly when the NFL — the industry’s dominant force — prepares to reenter the marketplace.
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