NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at the CNBC CEO Council in Arizona, May 19, 2025.

Chris Coduto | CNBC

The NFL and Paramount Skydance‘s renewal talks on a deal to keep the league’s Sunday games on CBS are beginning to take shape, CNBC has learned.

NFL and CBS executives are negotiating a price increase, with a bid-ask spread midpoint around 50% or 60%, according to two people familiar with the negotiations, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. CBS currently pays around $2.1 billion a year, on average, for its Sunday afternoon games, CNBC has previously reported. A 50% increase would mean CBS would pay more than $3 billion in its next deal.

In return for the increased revenue, the NFL would eliminate the opt-out clause after the 2029-30 season that it put in its original deal with Paramount, part of an 11-year agreement that runs through the end of the 2033-34 season. That clause would have given the league the chance to walk away early.

CBS would begin paying the new fee as soon as next season for the next eight years for the same package of games.

Paramount’s adjusted projection for its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for 2026 is $3.6 billion. If Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery is approved by regulators, the combined company would have an adjusted EBITDA projection of $18 billion, Paramount Chief Financial Officer Dennis Cinelli told investors this month.

“We have a phenomenal relationship with the NFL, and we anticipate that continuing for the foreseeable future,” Paramount CEO David Ellison told CNBC earlier this month. “They are one of our most important partners, and we plan for them to stay one of our most important partners, having just delivered a historic season in partnership with them. And, you know, ongoing negotiations, we’re not really in a position where we can comment. I promise we’ll share something as soon as we have something to say.”

Comcast‘s NBCUniversal, Amazon Prime Video and Fox are also subject to the 2029-30 opt-out clause in their deals. Disney‘s ESPN and ABC have until 2031.

Referee Shawn Smith talks to New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks players before the coin toss for the 2026 Super Bowl, at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8.

Carlos Barria | Reuters

The league has chosen to begin negotiating with Paramount’s CBS before any of its other media partners because a change-of-control provision — stemming from Skydance Media’s acquisition of Paramount Global — allows the NFL to break its deal by 2027.

The NFL might negotiate with Fox next after CBS because the terms of the deal should be similar — both companies own Sunday afternoon packages, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

Fox currently pays slightly more than CBS for its package of games — about $2.2 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. Fox will “certainly look to [be] continuing that mutually beneficial relationship going forward” with the NFL, but it hasn’t had any “material conversations” on a renewal yet, CEO Lachlan Murdoch said earlier this month at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.

The NFL also hasn’t begun material discussions with Amazon, NBC or Disney, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s unclear if the league would look to push forward with a similar 50% increase for all three of those packages.

Some executives at NBC and at Disney believe the relative strengths of their packages — Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football — have diminished as the NFL has given Amazon better games for its Thursday Night Football in recent years, according to people familiar with the matter.

ESPN already pays $2.7 billion for Monday Night Football. A 50% increase would mean ESPN would pay more than $4 billion for that package — a number Disney would likely balk at, according to people familiar with the matter.

Downstream implications

The timing and scope of the NFL’s new deals could have a significant effect on the value of other sports’ rights in the coming years.

The NHL currently has TV deals with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, which expire after the 2028 season. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has had a number of conversations about renewing a deal before the NFL, according to two people familiar with the matter. Still, he will likely have to wait until Paramount’s deal to acquire WBD closes before inking a new agreement.

“As with an ongoing relationship, you’re always talking about the future, and from our standpoint it’s not in the context of the NFL,” said NHL spokesman Jon Weinstein.

Murdoch said last month that Fox would have to “rebalance” its sports portfolio once it pays the NFL.

Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said earlier this month he’s “prepared for the sports landscape to be shifting,” given the outsize cost of the NFL. That could allow Versant, which owns the USA Network and other cable channels, to buy rights to sports such as the NHL or MLB “that we might not have otherwise gotten involved with,” he said.

Disclosure: Versant is the parent company of CNBC.

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Sign at the entrance to the Lululemon store in Midtown Manhattan.

Erik Mcgregor | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Lululemon is partnering with the NFL to launch an apparel collection featuring the logos of all 32 NFL teams, the company and league announced Monday. It will mark the first time the retailer has offered officially licensed products for the NFL or any of its franchises.

The collection, set to launch Tuesday, will include both men’s and women’s apparel and accessories with NFL team symbols. Some of Lululemon’s most notable products — including its Steady State men’s franchise and women’s styles such as Define, Scuba and Align — are part of the collection.

Shares of Lululemon rose more than 3% in morning trading Monday.

Lululemon, long known for its roots in yoga wear, has made a notable push into sports and performance in recent years. The retailer struck a partnership with the NHL last year to release team-branded items. It has also grown its roster of sports-linked ambassadors to include PGA golfers Min Woo Lee and Max Homa, ATP tennis pro Frances Tiafoe, NFL player DK Metcalf and NHL player Connor Bedard. Earlier this year, the retailer made perhaps its biggest splash to date, naming F1 champion Lewis Hamilton as an ambassador.

Celeste Burgoyne, president of Lululemon’s Americas division and global guest innovation, said the retailer sees an opportunity within sports where it can provide “the best product for these fans in the premium space to be able to celebrate their teams.”

“It really is about enabling our existing guests to be able to now wear Lululemon in arenas and stadiums, but it’s also about a new guest and expanding and really connecting our worlds in order to grow our guest base,” she said in an interview with CNBC.

Lululemon has struggled in recent quarters. The company has been hit hard by the impact of tariffs and other shifting consumer trends. But CEO Calvin McDonald, speaking with CNBC last month, said he sees an opportunity to innovate within the company’s key categories and items.

For the NFL, partnering with Lululemon on a new collection is another opportunity for the league to broaden its reach for team gear, according to NFL Chief Revenue Officer Renie Anderson.

“We want to make sure we’re creating a variety, an assortment for all fans, from casual to the more classic styles,” Anderson told CNBC. “It’s all a part of that ecosystem of passion and love for the sport and your club, and the ability to express yourself that way, whether it’s fun ways with foam fingers or hats, or in a cool, casual, fashionable way.”

The new items will be available on the league’s e-commerce site and at team retail locations, as well as via Fanatics, which has a longstanding partnership with the NFL and holds the league’s consumer product licensing rights for fan gear.

Andrew Low Ah Kee, CEO of Fanatics Commerce, said the sports industry has historically often overserved fans in certain casual product categories, like T-shirts and hoodies, but that there is now “a real demand and appetite for truly premium.”

“The jersey is truly the uniform of sport,” Low Ah Kee told CNBC. “So when we think about a consumer’s closet, we think there’s a role for jerseys, but we think there’s a role for a lot of other apparel as well.”

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Trading cards of the game “Magic” are located in a shop where a “Magic” tournament is taking place.

Frank Rumpenhorst | picture alliance | Getty Images

As screentime soars and technology races ahead, a low-tech pastime is back in a big way: collecting trading cards.

The cardstock depicting everything from NFL standouts to Pokémon and even Taylor Swift is one of the hottest toy categories in stores this year. Big-box retailers are stocking up ahead of the holidays, anticipating that demand will extend beyond traditional toy buyers like children and collectors.

“We see trading cards being a hot gifting category for all ages that we will fuel with newness and with exclusive drops,” Rick Gomez, Target’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, told CNBC. “We’re going to have new releases nearly every week during the holidays that’s going to drive demand. And these make for great gifts and great stocking stuffers.”

Strategic trading card sales — which exclude sports — are up 103% year-to-date through August, while non-strategic card sales, which tend to be collectible pop culture or sports cards, are up 48%, according to market research firm Circana.

Target’s trading card sales are up nearly 70% year-to-date, with annual revenue from the category expected to top $1 billion.

Sales on some online platforms are rising even faster. Walmart Marketplace reported a 200% jump in trading card sales from February 2024 to June 2025, with Pokémon sales up more than tenfold year-over-year during the same period, the company first told Axios. The retailer has even launched a new weekly influencer livestream series focused on sports collectibles.

Since 2021, strategic card sales have grown by $891 million, or 139%, to total $1.5 billion, according to Circana. Sales of non-strategic cards and collectible stickers climbed by $565 million, or 156%, to $925 million in the same period, Circana said.

Millennials and Gen Z customers have been crucial for growth, said Juli Lennett, vice president and industry advisor for Circana’s U.S. toys practice.

“Lots of adults are buying these because it brings them back to a time when they had no cares in the world,” Lennett said. “It’s an affordable luxury with the economy right now. Some couldn’t afford cards as kids and now they have their own money and no one’s there to say ‘no’.”

Some buyers also treat cards like alternative investments. Through August, the value of Pokémon cards has delivered a cumulative return of 3,821% since 2004, according to an index by analytics firm Card Ladder, the Wall Street Journal reported. To combat online resellers, many stores now limit purchases to two packs per customer.

While the trading card category has boomed this year, not everyone is convinced the segment will boost sales during the peak holiday shopping season. Within the past six months, 19% of adults said they purchased Pokémon cards for themselves, signaling they may not be buying them for others in the weeks ahead, according to Circana.

“There has been steady growth in the category, but a large chunk of buyers are purchasing for themselves. There isn’t as much gifting here as you see in other toys,” Lennett said.

Pokemon cards released in 1999

Yvonne Hemsey | Hulton Archive | Getty Images

A year-round rush

What trading cards may lack in holiday flair, they make up for in consistency.

Cards stand apart from most toy categories in two key ways: they are frequently self-purchased and not “super seasonal,” Lennett said.

“Cards sell just as well in March or July as they do in December,” she said. “That makes them very attractive to retailers trying to offset seasonal risk.”

Target, which often gets a bump from merchandise tied to holidays, has tried to capitalize on the year-round fervor for cards.

“We expanded our assortment. We increased the number of drops that we have. We put trading cards in a more prominent place in store, did bolder displays and the business has responded,” Gomez said. “We don’t see the business slowing and we see it continuing to grow in popularity.”

Pokémon remains the category’s top performer, with card sales topping $1 billion last year — it’s the first toy brand to hit that milestone in the U.S., according to Circana. Sports cards are also becoming more popular, particularly among teen boys, with NFL packs leading the charge.

“A lot of different people are coming in to buy. You have your adult collector who’s buying for themselves, but we also see a lot of families coming in with kids requesting them and asking their parents for trading cards,” Gomez said. “It’s a great gift for parents, for kids, especially if they know that they’re into sports or Pokémon.”

While contemporary releases are booming across people aged eight to 28, vintage cards — typically pre-1970s — haven’t connected as strongly with Gen Z and Gen Alpha collectors.

“The majority of my customers aren’t looking for vintage,” Matthew Winkelried, CEO of New York-based Bleecker Trading, told CNBC. “Younger people don’t want to dig through 1960s cards unless they see a Mickey Mantle or Hank Aaron. Plus, the scarcity and price of vintage cards make it a tough entry point.”

Topps trading cards are arranged for a photograph in Richmond, Virginia.

Jay Paul | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Changing customers

After a near-collapse in the 1990s due to overproduction, the trading card industry has rebounded. Growth has been particularly strong since the pandemic, propelled by a blend of nostalgia, community and, for some, investment potential.

For many, cards offer a sense of belonging — whether it’s exchanging cards or playing a game like Pokémon or Magic: The Gathering.

“You still have the game players, and that’s a really tight-knit community,” said Jason Howarth, senior vice president of marketing and athlete relations at Panini America, which supplies sports cards to retailers like Target and Walmart. “Among sports fans, there’s a huge sense of camaraderie around trading. And with Pokémon too, I’ve heard game nights still play a major role in keeping that ecosystem alive.”

For those looking to cards as a store of value, Pokémon cards often prove to be a stronger investment than their sports counterparts, said Winkelried of Bleecker Trading.

“Maybe a highly touted rookie joins the league, and you buy their card early hoping it’ll rise in value,” he said. “The value can change week to week. It’s volatile like a stock.”

He added: “Pokémon is like a commodity. Pikachu can’t tear an ACL or get a DUI. Supply is limited, so the market is more stable.”

Looking past the holidays, major retailers are focusing on building the category’s long-term future. Target is betting on exclusive sets, limited specialty drops and drawing a more diverse consumer base.

“We are looking at reaching not only breadth of age with trading cards, but also gender,” Gomez said.

That process is already underway. The WNBA is now one of the fastest-growing segments in sports cards, particularly among young girls.

And with the 2026 FIFA World Cup spanning the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, soccer is poised to surge next.

“Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese have done wonders for the WNBA trading card business,” Howarth said. “Once it hits June, the U.S. marketplace is going to be taken over by soccer. Fans already know the global stars like Messi, but with the World Cup being held here, at least four or five players will skyrocket in popularity and get recognized.”

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NFL MVP Josh Allen signs with New Balance.

Courtesy of New Balance

NFL MVP Josh Allen has left Nike to sign an endorsement deal with New Balance.

The Buffalo Bills quarterback announced the news on Friday in a letter to his hometown of Firebaugh, California. The deal is a major win for Massachusetts-based New Balance.

Allen has been a Nike athlete since he joined the league in 2018. The swoosh has faced headwinds in recent years as innovation slowed and sales declined.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but New Balance has committed to funding the Firebaugh community youth sports program as part of the agreement.

“I’m proud to share I’m joining the New Balance family, a brand that, like Firebaugh, is built on family, community and authenticity,” Allen said in the letter.

Josh Allen, #17 of the Buffalo Bills, scrambles out of the pocket during an NFL game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sept. 12, 2024.

Perry Knotts | Getty Images

Firebaugh is not only where Allen grew up, but also where he first trained and developed his passion for football, he said.

“Firebaugh didn’t have quarterback camps or private trainers. We had heart. We had community. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Allen said in the letter.

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Allen is one of the league’s biggest stars and has led the Bills to the playoffs for six straight years. He was also featured in HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Buffalo Bills,” which aired its finale on Tuesday.

New Balance, which has rapidly expanded its athlete roster, also represents other big-name stars such as tennis player Coco Gauff, MLB’s Shohei Ohtani and the WNBA’s Cameron Brink.

“As New Balance continues to grow its football family, we’re honored to welcome Josh Allen on the field and in the community, helping lead the next chapter,” the company said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Allen also announced he was joining Therabody as the fitness recovery brand’s first-ever Performance Advisor.

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The logo of Robinhood Markets is seen at a pop-up event on Wall Street after the company’s initial public offering in New York City on July 29, 2021.

Andrew Kelly | Reuters

Robinhood announced Tuesday that the online broker is launching new prediction markets for professional and college-level football.

Customers will now be able to trade on the outcomes of “the most popular” NFL and college football games on the Robinhood app. Robinhood said those games would include regular season pro matchups and all college Power Four schools games.

The prediction markets are currently rolling out, according to Robinhood, and will be available to customers “in the coming days,” with plans to launch the first two weeks of the regular football seasons and eventually add weekly matchups.

“Adding pro and college football to our prediction markets hub is a no-brainer for us as we aim to make Robinhood a one-stop shop for all your investing and trading needs,” Robinhood Vice President of Futures and International JB Mackenzie said in a statement.

Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders celebrates after rushing for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals during the NFL Preseason 2025 game between Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium on August 18, 2025 in Landover, Maryland.

Greg Fiume | Getty Images

The new move comes as Robinhood is aggressively expanding its prediction markets and wades deeper into the sports wagering arena. On its second-quarter earnings call last month, CFO Jason Warnick said the company is seeing its strongest engagement in sports wagers, with CEO Vlad Tenev adding that the company sees “a big opportunity” in sports betting.

The broker added that the football prediction markets will differ from sports betting, allowing buyers and sellers to engage with each other to set the price. Robinhood said it expects the football prediction markets to be tradeable everyday between 8 a.m. ET and 3 a.m. ET.

Since first unveiling its prediction markets at the end of of last year, Robinhood said it’s seen more than 2 billion contracts traded.

The stock is up more than 400% over the one-year period.

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A detail shot of the Lombardi Trophy next to Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles helmets prior to a news conference on February 03, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana ahead of the NFL Super Bowl LIX football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kevin Sabitus | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The NFL is cracking down on the resale of Super Bowl tickets by players, coaches and club employees.

The league plans to fine more than 100 players and roughly two dozen club employees who were found to be in violation of the NFL’s Ticket Resale policy in connection with Super Bowl 59 tickets, according to an internal memo from the league’s chief compliance officer, Sabrina Perel, that was viewed by CNBC.

An investigation found that those players and personnel were selling these tickets to resale “bundlers” at a profit, according to the memo.

Players will be fined 1.5-times the face value of the tickets they sold, and employees will be fined twice the face value, according to a person familiar with the matter who declined to be named speaking about nonpublic details.

Non-player personnel found in violation of the policy will also lose the ability to purchase future NFL tickets, according to the memo.

The league prohibits employees and players from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or more than the employee originally paid — whichever is less.

The league is also taking steps to enhance compliance training ahead of Super Bowl 60 and said it will increase penalties for future offenses.

“No one should profit personally from their NFL affiliation at the expense of our fans,” Perel wrote in the memo.

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