With the countdown to this year’s Super Bowl continuing, the NFL may be exploring ways to renegotiate its television and streaming deals years ahead of schedule with one network has its future Super Bowl locked in. NBC Sports President Rick Cordella confirmed in an interview with Sports Media Watch Podcast that NBC will hold broadcast rights to Super Bowl 64 in 2030 regardless of how soon the NFL decides to reopen its current media rights contracts.
“We will have the 2030 Super Bowl guaranteed no matter what,” Cordella said. “So if [the NFL] were to open [up the rights], and if the crazy scenario where we don’t renew the NFL happened, we would still have the 2030 Super Bowl. That’s guaranteed to us.”
NBC will air this season’s Super Bowl, which marks the third year of the league’s current four-network rotation. ESPN and ABC are next in line to broadcast in 2026. Followed by CBS in 2028, FOX in 2029, and NBC returning to the rotation in 2030.
That 2029-30 season also serves as a key pivot point for the NFL. It’s the final year before the league can trigger the opt-out clauses built into most of its long-term television deals. Disney’s agreement runs slightly longer, with its opt-out coming after it airs the 2031 Super Bowl.
While the expectation has long been that the league would wait until 2030 to revisit those contracts, the timeline may accelerate. Earlier this year, John Ourand of Puck reported that the NFL was considering early talks with its media partners. A move that commissioner Roger Goodell later confirmed to CNBC’s Alex Sherman. According to Goodell, the league could initiate renegotiations as soon as next year. Three years before the formal opt-out window opens.
However, moving up negotiations requires the cooperation of all media partners. Cordella said NBC is open to those discussions and maintains an active, positive relationship with the league.
“If [Goodell] were to come and want to talk to us about extending our deal, of course,” Cordella said. “They’re a fantastic partner. We talk to the NFL daily, maybe every other day. It would be no surprise if they want to talk about the future. We welcome those conversations.”
For NBC, one detail remains non-negotiable: its 2030 Super Bowl broadcast. Cordella made it clear that the network’s rights to that game are part of its guaranteed inventory.
“If there’s a scenario where NBC were no longer in business with the NFL, we would still be guaranteed that 2030 Super Bowl,” he said. “We wouldn’t give up that Super Bowl unless it was part of something longer term.”
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