NFL Owners Approve Expanded Deals with ESPN, Amazon, and EA Sports
ORLANDO, FL – NFL owners today approved sweeping agreements with ESPN, Amazon, and EA Sports, signaling a significant expansion of the league’s media and gaming presence.the deals, finalized at recent owners meetings, encompass changes to the Pro Bowl, increased high school flag football coverage, and a continued partnership with EA Sports to shape the future of interactive football experiences.
A key component of the agreements involves a revamp of the Pro Bowl. The league will move the event from the week preceding the Super Bowl to the Tuesday during Super Bowl week, integrating it into the larger Super Bowl festivities.The Pro Bowl will continue as a flag football game,with the 2025 iteration planned for San Francisco’s moscone Center,alongside othre NFL fan activities. ESPN will develop live coverage plans for the event, and will also televise high school girls flag football as part of its expanded coverage, including preview programming on the Sunday before the game.
“We’ve decided that we’re going to use the platform we have, obviously, with the Olympics coming up and players having the ability to participate, is to move the Pro Bowl into our biggest week with our biggest players, and that’s a Super Bowl week,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters. NFL executive peter O’Reilly added, ”They’re going to bring a lot of innovation to how this year will come to life on TV.” Peyton and Eli Manning, who previously coached in the Pro bowl flag football game, will not return to those roles but will remain involved in promoting the event, with new coaches to be announced.
Beyond the Pro bowl,the NFL’s partnership with EA Sports will continue to evolve. “EA Sports and the NFL have built one of the most iconic partnerships in all of sports and entertainment, and we see so much chance ahead to deliver for football fans everywhere,” said Cam Weber, president of EA Sports, in a statement. “With more than 2 billion games of Madden NFL played each year, the global community of football fans connecting through play has never been bigger. Together with the NFL, we will continue to shape the interactive future of football – expanding Madden NFL, growing College Football, and creating new breakthrough experiences for the next generation of fans.”
the league also addressed recent criticism surrounding the selection of Bad Bunny as the headliner for next year’s Super Bowl halftime show, with Goodell reaffirming the NFL’s commitment to the performance despite backlash from the Trump administration and conservative commentators. “He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world. That’s what we try to achieve,” Goodell stated. “It’s an important stage for us…It’s carefully thought through. I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback and criticism. It’s pretty hard to do.”
