Fox will pay $3B for Thursday night games
Fox and the NFL have agreed to a five-year deal for Thursday night football games.
Those games previously were televised by CBS and NBC, two of the league's other network partners.
Fox announced Wednesday that it will televise 11 games between Weeks 4 and 15, with simulcasts on NFL Network and Fox Deportes.
Fox, which has the Sunday afternoon NFC package, will produce all of the games under the deal, which is worth a little more than $3 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge of the terms of the deal who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league didn't announce its value.
“This is a single-partner deal; we are not splitting the package,” NFL commissioner
said in a conference call. “We had tremendous amount of interest from all the broadcast partners, all of whom wanted it exclusively. We felt this was the best opportunity for the NFL to grow the Thursday night package.”
Goodell added that the league is exploring partnerships with digital outlets, also in conjunction with Fox.
The NFL has broadcast deals “five years out” with its other partners — ESPN has the Monday night package — so five years on this agreement made sense.
“Fundamentally, Fox was built on football,” said
president of 21st Century Fox, nothing that 25 years ago, the NFC package “helped launch a fledgling network into what it is today.”
As expected, tight end
remained in the concussion protocol Wednesday for New England's first Super Bowl practice in Minnesota.
According to a pool report of the workout, Patriots coach said Gronkowski took part in non-contact drills and is “working his way back.”
The Patriots worked out for two hours in their only full-padded practice of the week leading up to Sunday's matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Gronkowski has been in the league's concussion protocol after taking a hit Patriots in the first half of the AFC title game against the Jaguars.
Gronkowski said at a promotional appearance for the “Madden 18” video game Tuesday night that he would leave his game status up to team doctors.
Goodell says he was aware of the announcement of the return of the rival XFL, but hadn't had time to think much about what it means for the NFL.
Goodell said during his annual Super Bowl address Wednesday league officials “want to make sure our game stays strong for the long term.”
He said he would “have to see” if the NFL is asked to be involved, saying he didn't know “enough specifics of that proposal.”