An NFL executive has issued a strong defense of its growing slate of games across various streaming platforms after Donald Trump called out the league and the U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation.
Speaking after this week’s 2026 season schedule release, NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder said Friday that the league has no intention of stripping back its deals with streaming platforms.
‘We love our model,’ he said, according to ESPN. ‘We think we have the most fan-friendly model there is of any sport or entertainment as far as distribution.’
The NFL has reiterated that 87 per cent of games are broadcast on free-to-air TV networks like CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC. But Netflix is increasingly growing its portfolio, while Amazon Prime Video and Peacock also hold rights.
‘We think broadcast [networks] have been an incredible home,’ Schroeder continued.
‘And, now, we also know fans are increasingly spending their time on other platforms as well. They tune into broadcast for the NFL and that’s where we want to be.
An NFL executive has issued a strong defense of its deals with TV streaming platforms
A spokesman for the NFL, which is led by Roger Goodell, said its media distribution model ‘is the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry’
‘But we also want to be on these platforms with a limited amount of our games where we know our NFL fans are already as well.
‘When we’re going onto Netflix, we’re going onto a platform that is already massively adopted and a huge number of viewers on that platform already, including a huge number of NFL fans.’
Trump launched a blistering attack on the NFL last Sunday, claiming the league is ‘killing the golden goose’ amid the DoJ’s ongoing investigation.
In an interview on Full Measure, the president broke his silence on the federal investigation into media rights and the shift to expensive platforms.
‘It’s tough. You’ve got people that love football. They don’t make enough money to go and pay for this,’ Trump told Sharyl Attkisson during the Sunday morning sit-down.
‘And they [the NFL] could be killing the golden goose’, the President added.
He warned the league’s leadership to tread carefully with their new model, stating: ‘Others have tried this, and all of a sudden you don’t have a sport anymore.’
‘There’s something very sad when they take football away from many, many people. Very sad. I don’t like it,’ the President added.
Donald Trump launched a blistering attack on the NFL, claim the league is ‘killing the golden goose’ amid the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation
Trump questioned why the league is squeezing fans, noting: ‘They’re making a lot of money. They could make a little bit less. They could let the people see.’
He highlighted the plight of dedicated fans, saying: ‘You have people that live for Sunday. They can’t think about anything else,’ before slamming costs.
‘And then all of a sudden, they’re gonna have to pay $1,000 a game. It’s crazy. So, I’m not happy about it,’ Trump said of the rising subscription fees.
Fans are not currently facing $1,000 prices for a game. However, it’s been reported that some fans spent almost $1,000 on cable packages and the necessary streaming subscriptions last season.
The DOJ investigation is reportedly focused on whether the league’s complex broadcasting deals constitute anti-competitive behavior.
Federal investigators are looking into whether splitting games across numerous apps unfairly increases costs for those who once watched for free on broadcast TV.
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 allowed anti-trust exemptions that gave leagues like the NFL the chance to bundle their broadcasting rights together so they could agree on mega-money TV rights contracts with national networks.
But in recent years, the NFL’s rights holders have evolved to include subscription-based streaming services.
As well as traditional TV networks, Netflix and Amazon Prime now hold rights to NFL games
The emergence of those has led to concerns from fans about how much it costs to be able to watch their favorite teams across a dizzying number of platforms.
In the upcoming 2026 season alone, games will be broadcast on CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, Amazon Prime, Fox One, Paramount+, Peacock, Netflix and YouTube.
‘To watch every NFL game during the past season, football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions,’ Republican Sen. Mike Lee wrote in a letter last month to the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, the NFL said: ‘The NFL’s media distribution model is the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry.
‘With over 87 percent of our games on free, broadcast television, including 100 percent of games in the markets of the competing teams, the NFL has for decades put our fans front and center in how we distribute our content.
‘The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans.’
It comes just months after ESPN struck a deal with the NFL to acquire NFL Network, rights for RedZone and three more games every season.
