It’s very hard, if not impossible, to spare any pity for the indomitable NFL, which kicks off the 2024-25 season tonight with the league seemingly as strong as ever. The only lingering anxieties that seem to dot the landscape, such as they are, pertain to whether the presidential election will slightly decrease ratings and whether the NBA’s recent boffo media rights negotiation suggest that the NFL is undercompensated for its 11-year, $110 billion overall package and should exercise its out in five years. Quelle horreur!

The only turd in this golden punchbowl, I suppose, has been the NFL’s ongoing, unsuccessful attempt to offload NFL Media, the entity that consists of the NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and the league’s fantasy business. Three years ago, when the league put NFL Media on the block, many expected a frothy market. After all, despite the decline of the linear TV business, every company wanted to work with the NFL. At the time, nearly every mediaco considered cutting a deal, some more seriously than others. Earlier this year, ESPN was reportedly in advanced talks to take control of NFL Media in exchange for the league taking an equity stake in the sports company. (Of course, ESPN is owned by Disney, and the deal wasn’t going to be simple.)