On May 15, Netflix confirmed that big ol’ NFL deal everyone’s been anticipating, a move that pushes it deeper into the coveted live-sports territory. This marks yet another step in Big Red’s accelerating progression into live programming, which this year has so far included the Tom Brady roast; John Mulaney’s experimental sorta-kinda late-night rethink, Everybody’s in L.A.; Katt Williams’s comedy special; and a couple weirdo live-sporting events such as the Rafa-Alcaraz exhibition tennis match in March and the upcoming and unfortunate Jake Paul–Mike Tyson boxing bout.
The three-year agreement covers a somewhat limited purview in this iteration, giving Netflix the rights to livestream the NFL’s two marquee Christmas Day games around the world and “at least one holiday game” in 2025 and 2026. It’s apparently a smaller deal relative to the $5 billion that the streamer is shelling out for the WWE, with The Wall Street Journal reporting the price tag to be “about $75 million” per game this year — or what one Netflix executive described as “about the same” as one of the streamer’s “medium-size original films.” (So, smaller than a Rebel Moon, bigger than a Hit Man. Maybe a Jennifer Lopez in space?)
Anyway, that’s all interesting, but I really can’t stop thinking about how Netflix chose to announce this news on X: “You can’t spell Netflix without ‘NFL.’” It’s not the first time it’s done this — see the “You can’t spell ‘laugh’ without ‘LA’ and ‘ugh’” promo for the Netflix Is a Joke fest. I guess it makes sense because you can’t spell John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A. without I Love Money.
