The NFL is keeping its postseason partnership with Amazon Prime Video rolling.
Rather than auctioning off its Wild Card weekend games year by year, the league reportedly will air games during the opening round of the postseason on Prime Video in 2026 and 2027. According to Sports Business Journal‘s Austin Karp, the deal struck between the NFL and Amazon last year was actually a three-year deal.
Karp reports that while Amazon paid $150 million for its first-ever playoff game (between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens) this year, the agreement could include escalators for the following two years.
The Ravens’ blowout win over the Steelers last month averaged a Nielsen-verified 22.1 million viewers on the streaming service, which also airs Thursday Night Football. That mark was a tick down from the first streaming-exclusive NFL playoff game in January 2024 on Peacock.
Streaming companies often use sports to bolster its subscriber base, and Prime Video giving sports fans regular programming will reduce the “churn” of cancelations. Along with TNF and these NFL playoff games, the streamer also now airs an NHL package, a NASCAR package, and a cluster of New York Yankees games. Starting in the fall, Amazon will own NBA and WNBA rights for the next 11 years.
Given that commissioner Roger Goodell remarked this week in New Orleans that NFL media rights are undervalued, it is interesting that the league gave Amazon a three-year deal for the postseason. Netflix reportedly scored a similar deal for its Christmas Day slate, with options for future seasons.
NFL football is the hottest commodity in live programming, and Amazon is getting some of the best inventory going forward.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.