At 45 years old, it’s hard to imagine a more die-hard Chicago sports fan than myself. My lifetime has included as many championships as gut-wrenching seasons. I’ve watched the greatest of all time lace up sneakers and seen century-old curses become extinct. This weekend, the Chicago Bears face the Green Bay Packers in the NFL playoffs—and many fans aren’t happy about it.
On Sunday night, during halftime of the Sunday Night Football game between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, the NFL dropped an atom bomb on the league’s oldest rivalry. Playoff football in Chicago against Green Bay…on Prime Video. Yes, the most anticipated game of the weekend, featuring two of the NFL’s marquee franchises, is behind a paywall.
Bears and Packers fans across the nation were outraged—but the move was a sign of things to come. With the NFL signaling openness to renegotiating media deals earlier than expected, putting the top Wild Card game on a streaming platform is a warning shot to traditional partners.
The NFL is the king of sports media. Its games keep networks viable, sports radio alive, and podcasts profitable. Media devotes more resources to covering the NFL than any other sport. Budgets are set, jobs hinge on revenue goals, and the stakes are high.
Why? Interest in the NFL has never been greater. In 2025, sports accounted for 96 of the 100 most-watched shows—tying a record. Last year, 92 of the top 100 were football-related, including 84 NFL games.
With the playoffs approaching, networks were salivating. The coveted game was Bears-Packers, a rivalry as old as time. Chicago enjoyed a magical season with comeback after comeback. Could they beat their archrival two out of three times and who would be the lucky one to broadcast the action?
FOX Sports had the coveted Sunday 4:25 p.m. America’s Game of the Week slot. CBS offers the early window fans expect on a typical NFL game day. NBC, ratings darling of the NFL, would have been a natural home. ESPN’s Monday Night Football, steeped in tradition, remains iconic. Also, didn’t the NFL just acquire a stake in ESPN?
None of those were what the NFL decided on.
Instead, the NFL went with Prime Video—behind a paywall, outside the traditional network structure, with a clear eye on future business. Streaming exclusives aren’t new: the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game appeared on Peacock in 2024, and last year Prime Video hosted Ravens-Steelers. But Bears-Packers is different. The teams alone move the needle in a way those games didn’t.
Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times reports the NFL’s goal is simple: streaming must play a major role in the next round of media rights deals. Prime Video’s deal has sparked other agreements with Netflix, YouTube, and Peacock for exclusivity.
And Prime Video is succeeding. In fact, it had its best year in Thursday Night Football history, with viewership up 16% from last season, averaging 15.33 million viewers. The demos are younger, and the model points to the industry’s future.
The NFL signed an 11-year, $111 billion media package in 2021, running through the 2033 season. ESPN has an extra year, and the league retains an opt-out after 2029–30. By favoring Prime Video, the NFL rewarded it’s newest weekly partner while signaling its priorities for the future.
What does this mean for other network partners? It’s a wake-up call: viewers continue to cut cords, streaming subscriptions are rising, and the NFL sees an untapped revenue opportunity. The league is the last to truly cash in.
The NBA streams games on Peacock and Prime Video. MLB moves games to Netflix and Peacock. The NHL has a boatload of games on ESPN+. The NFL has the fewest games but the biggest opportunity. Bears-Packers on Prime Video shows what’s possible. Could CBS place more games exclusively on Paramount+? NBC on Peacock? FOX One and ESPN direct-to-consumer also hint at possibility for new deals. Netflix and YouTube are potential partners.
Don’t get it twisted: NFL greed doesn’t benefit the NFL fan. It’s business. Prime Video got its back scratched, and now Amazon will likely pay more in the next media rights cycle.
The NFL has been, is, and will always be in the driver’s seat. Media rights costs will rise. Networks can’t risk losing football because consumers could potentially balk at the price. For fans, Bears-Packers behind a paywall is a gut punch—but make no mistake: the NFL isn’t just serving football; it’s shaping the future of sports media.
Networks should take notice. Timing is everything, and the NFL is already signaling its playbook for the next wave of agreements.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
