Amazon close to acquiring minority stake in the NFL’s media properties, claims report

Amazon has reportedly emerged as the favourite to buy a minority stake in the NFL’s media properties. 

According to Front Office Sports, the NFL is in talks with Amazon to sell up to 49% in its media properties including NFL Network, RedZone and NFL.com.

While Amazon is the favourite to seal a deal, it is not a sure thing. The report goes on to note that a number of media, private equity and tech companies are also considering a deal.

The sale represents a rare opportunity for an entity outside of the NFL’s 32 teams to buy into the US’s most-watched sports league.

Such a deal would build on Amazon’s existing relationship with the league. In 2022, Prime Video will become the first streaming service to offer an exclusive package of domestic NFL games, with the company paying US$1 billion-per season for rights to Thursday Night Football.

Away from broadcast rights, Amazon also has a strong relationship with the NFL, with Amazon Web Services providing computing power for the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. 

Amazon is also reportedly close to achieving a deal for the NFL’s out-of-market ‘Sunday Ticket’ broadcast package. This would also be an expensive deal, with DirecTV’s current US$1.5 billion annual deal expiring at the end of the 2022/23 season.