Fox will wait until closer to 2030 to revisit NFL media rights

Fox NFL media rights will remain under the existing agreement for now. Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch said Fox will not amend its deal with the league before the current arrangement runs through the 2029 season, a decision that keeps a major live-sports contract unchanged for several more years.

Murdoch made the comments on Fox's earnings call Thursday, according to CNBC. He said Fox had recently held thorough discussions with the NFL but would make no changes to the companies' contractual relationship. Fox expects to engage with the league about the opt-out period and later seasons closer to 2030, he said.

For investors, the immediate result is clarity on timing. Fox is preserving the terms it already has rather than agreeing now to a longer deal that was under preliminary discussion.

When can Fox renegotiate NFL media rights?

The NFL can opt out of Fox's current agreement after the 2029-30 season. Fox's Sunday-afternoon game package is among the league's core broadcast agreements, alongside the package held by CBS parent Paramount Skydance.

If the opt-out were removed, the Fox and Paramount agreements cited by CNBC would instead run through the end of the 2033-34 season. An opt-out clause gives the league the contractual right to end an agreement early at a set date. Removing it would give broadcasters more guaranteed years of games, while limiting the NFL's ability to reopen those particular deals on the earlier timetable.

The NFL had preliminary talks with Fox and Paramount about changing those terms, CNBC reported. The possible amendment would have eliminated the opt-out and involved higher payments for live-game rights in exchange for additional guaranteed years of carriage.

An NFL spokesperson declined to comment on Murdoch's remarks, CNBC said.

Why Fox is holding to the current agreement

Live NFL games are consistently television's most-watched programming, according to CNBC. The league's most recent set of media-rights agreements, signed in 2021, was worth more than $100 billion, the network reported.

Murdoch's latest position narrows the near-term uncertainty after a series of earlier comments. In February, he said Fox could offset part of a potential increase in NFL costs by assessing its sports portfolio as a whole, according to Sports Business Journal. He said the company could consider rebalancing that portfolio when opportunities arose.

By May, Murdoch said Fox had not had substantive conversations with the NFL about a renewal, according to a transcript of the company's earnings call. He also described the NFL as a Fox partner for more than 30 years.

The August decision does not rule out a future renewal. It sets Fox's stated timetable: discussions about the opt-out years and beyond will wait until closer to 2030.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.