Sources indicate that the league is likely to add a new streaming partner for its draft coverage, which currently includes ESPN and NFL Network.

Seven years after a failed attempt to cover the NFL Draft, Fox Sports is eager to return to the league’s premier offseason event.

Fox, ESPN, and Google are among the major media companies bidding for the draft media rights, set to begin in 2026.

Netflix has reportedly passed on bidding for the rights. Despite airing a record-breaking Christmas Day doubleheader, the company remains out of the draft coverage picture.

This leaves Disney’s ABC (along with ESPN), Fox Sports, and Google (YouTube), all of which submitted bids last year, according to Puck News. Amazon Prime Video, following its record-breaking Thursday Night Football season, is a distant contender.

The league has not yet revealed when a decision will be made. However, given its fast expansion into streaming live NFL games with platforms like Prime, Netflix, ESPN+, and NBC’s Peacock, sources suggest that the league will likely add a global streaming partner to its draft plans.

Over the years, the draft has evolved from a quiet event with no TV coverage into a three-day media extravaganza.

ESPN, the incumbent draft partner, first televised the event in 1980. With analyst Mel Kiper Jr. and host Chris Berman, ESPN became synonymous with the draft, which grew into a massive spectacle blending reality TV and a traveling circus.

NFL Network, led by Rich Eisen, launched its coverage in 2006, and the two cable networks have competed fiercely ever since, with ESPN consistently leading the ratings race.

The Contenders

ESPN’s 45-year relationship with the draft has had its challenges. Fox Sports gained access in 2018 by simulcasting NFL Network’s coverage alongside ESPN and NFLN. This prompted concerns at ESPN and its parent company, Disney. The following year, ESPN countered by launching a more college football-focused broadcast on ABC, hosted by Kirk Herbstreit, which kept Fox at bay.

Sources now say Fox wants to return. With Tom Brady as the face of the network’s NFL coverage, and with nine years and over $330 million left on his contract, his potential involvement in draft coverage could boost the network’s appeal, as Troy Aikman and Joel Klatt did with NFL Network/Fox coverage seven years ago.

Google has been involved with the NFL since 2015. In late 2022, the league announced a $2 billion-per-year deal with YouTube TV to distribute Sunday Ticket. During Super Bowl week, YouTube also garnered six million live views for the NFL’s flag football game.

Complicating the situation is Disney’s resumption of long-stalled talks to acquire the NFL’s media assets, including NFL Network and NFL RedZone, for about $2 billion. One reason these talks, which had been paused for months, are now moving forward is to ensure ESPN retains the draft rights, sources say. NFLN’s eight live games would also enhance ESPN’s game inventory beyond Monday Night Football.

The draft has become a highly coveted property by broadcasters, cable networks, and streaming services, according to Doug Perlman, CEO of Sports Media Advisors. Coverage of last year’s first round in Detroit averaged 12.1 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, and digital channels. This was a 6% increase from the previous year and the highest Round 1 viewership since 2021.

“College football is bigger than ever. So people know many of these players coming in. Some connect to it that way,” Perlman says. “If they can engage people with the draft and its personal stories, it gives them another reason to watch the NFL on Sundays. It’s a smart move.”

The NFL, Netflix, ESPN, Fox, YouTube, and Prime declined to comment on the story or were unavailable for comment.