Key Points
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been asked to testify before Congress on sports media rights deals.
- The hearing will examine the NFL’s deals with broadcasters and platforms like Amazon and Netflix, and comes at a time when lawmakers are putting greater focus on possible reforms to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.
- Officials are questioning whether leagues should retain antitrust exemptions when negotiating with subscription services.
Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), is about to find himself in the hot seat in Washington.
On Monday, Goodell received a letter from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, requesting his presence at a hearing scheduled for June 10 on the topic of sports rights deals involving broadcasters and streaming media platforms.
The letter, first reported by ESPN, questions whether changes are needed to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which grants the NFL an exemption to federal antitrust laws in order to execute national TV deals with broadcast networks like CBS, NBC and Fox.
Over the past few years, the applicability of the exemption has been called into question as the NFL under Goodell presses for new deals with streaming services like Amazon’s Prime Video, Google’s YouTube and Netflix.
“Back when the Sports Broadcast Act was passed, the promise was you’ll get to watch every one of your team’s games for free,” Jordan said in a statement to ESPN. “Things have changed dramatically since 1961.”
Courts have previously ruled that the law’s antitrust protections do not extend to certain non-broadcast distribution platforms, including cable and satellite television. Jordan said lawmakers intend to explore whether leagues should continue to enjoy collective bargaining authority when negotiating with streaming services and other subscription-based distributors.
“The idea they can collude when negotiating a deal with a cable company or Amazon Prime is a very fair question to ask and explore,” Jordan said.
The NFL currently holds media rights agreements with Disney’s ESPN and ABC, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Amazon’s Prime Video and Netflix. While the majority of games remain available on free broadcast television, several high-profile packages require paid subscriptions, including most “Thursday Night Football” games on Prime Video, certain “Monday Night Football” contests on ESPN, Christmas Day games on Netflix and select exclusive games carried by Peacock and via ESPN’s new streaming plan.
The league has defended its media strategy, arguing that it continues to prioritize broad audience reach. Goodell previously said broadcast TV remained a key avenue for reaching fans across the country, with nearly 90 percent of games offered on free TV.
Congress has shown increasing interest in the issue over the past year. In 2025, the House Judiciary Committee requested briefings from the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball on whether their antitrust exemptions remain justified.
Goodell is expected to be joined at the June 10 hearing by Clay Travis, a sports media commentator whose OutKick website was sold to Fox in 2021, and at least one other witness who has yet to be named.
The appearance will mark Goodell’s latest testimony before Congress, following previous hearings on player concussions in 2009 and workplace culture issues involving the Washington Commanders in 2022.
