ESPN's Endless Irons in the Fire

From monumental deals with the NFL and the WWE to a separate agreement to retain the NFL Draft, ESPN's streaming era will be one for the history books

August 7, 2025

Disney-NFL Deal One of ESPN’s ‘Most Important Steps’ Since 1987, Iger Says
The morning after the Walt Disney Co. and the NFL formally announced their blockbuster equity-for-assets swap, Bob Iger told investors the deal may be the biggest thing to hit ESPN in nearly 40 years. Speaking to analysts during Disney’s third-quarter earnings call, the CEO characterized the partnership as “one of the most important steps ESPN has taken, really, since they went from half a season to a full season of the NFL back in 1987.
^Sportico

Disney Inks $1.6B Deal to Put WWE Events on ESPN
Disney and WWE have reached a five-year deal worth more than $1.6B that will give ESPN “exclusive rights to many of WWE’s most high-profile events.” The deal, which “will begin in 2026,” will see ESPN pay $325M a year for the U.S. domestic rights to WWE’s premium live events -- a “significant increase” from WWE’s current five-year deal with Peacock, which was valued at $900M. The events “will be available on ESPN’s new streaming service,” which is slated to debut this fall.
^{Wall Street Journal via Sports Business Journal}

TKO Punches Expectations With Q2 Earnings Beat
SBJ’s Adam Stern reports: “TKO Group Holdings sold enough tickets, sponsorships and other items around its premier properties like UFC and WWE to beat analyst expectations for its second-quarter earnings. TKO recorded $1.17 in earnings per share, beating the mean of predictions from analysts covering the company at $1.05 EPS, according to CNBC Pro data.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

US Open singles Champions Will Get a Record $5 Million in 2025 and Total Compensation is Up 20%
AP News’ Howard Fendrich reports: “Prize money at the U.S. Open will rise to nearly $85 million across all competitions this year, including a record $5 million each to the women’s and men’s singles champions, and total player compensation is jumping 20% to $90 million, the most in tennis history.”
^{AP News}

ESPN Extends NFL Draft Deal, Adds Content for DTC
SBJ’s Austin Karp writes, “ESPN and the NFL have a pair of separate media deals (separate from the NFL Media pacts) that will see the Draft stay with ESPN -- through what sources tell SBJ would be 2030 -- and also bring a bundling of some elements of NFL+ with the soon-to-launch ESPN DTC service. The draft rights had expired after the 2025 event in Green Bay, but now will take ESPN through its 50th iteration of the event, which happens to coincide with the NFL’s opt-out with ESPN around its primary ‘Monday Night Football’ package.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Disney’s ESPN Stake Dropping to 72% After NFL Deal
After regulatory approval of the deal that would see Disney/ESPN acquire NFL media assets in exchange for a 10% stake in ESPN, which “could take a year,” Disney would own 72% of the network, while Hearst would control 18%. LightShed analyst Rich Greenfield “estimated ESPN to be worth” $25B, implying a $2B-$3B valuation for the NFL assets.
^{Financial Times via Sports Business Journal}

First Episode of ‘Hard Knocks’ Spotlights Josh Allen, Bills’ New Stadium
The latest edition of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” featuring the Bills premiered Monday night, and the show “started with none other than” QB Josh Allen, according to Katherine Fitzgerald of the BUFFALO NEWS via SBJ. In addition, Allen and team owner Terry Pegula were featured in a look at the construction of the new Highmark Stadium. The “Hard Knocks” crew also got “a behind-the-scenes look at some of the coaches’ meetings, as well as their ensuing players meetings.”
^{Buffalo News via Sports Business Journal}

The Athletic Revenue Up to $54M in Q2
The Athletic’s revenue “increased by one-third” in Q2 to $54M. It “swung to an adjusted operating profit” of $5.8M in the quarter as ad revenue “nearly doubled” to $14.1M. The N.Y. Times, which owns The Athletic, said that it “ended the quarter with 11.3 million digital-only subscribers, of which more than six million were bundle and multiproduct subscribers.”
^{Wall Street Journal via Sports Business Journal}

Looking to fill an open position with top talent in the sports media industry? Advertise in the Sport & Story Daily to reach over 25,000 senior-level executives and professionals—and connect your job opportunity with the right audience.

ESPN Taking Over NFL Network’s Lease Near SoFi Stadium
FOS’ Ryan Glasspiegel writes, “ESPN is picking up a little real estate in its sweeping deal with the NFL.ESPN will be assuming the lease to NFL Network’s 75,000-square-foot studios across the street from SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, sources told Front Office Sports. It was not immediately clear how many years are left on the lease, or whether ESPN would be able to use the production facility for content outside of the NFL.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Thanks for reading!

Sport & Story Daily is the sports industry’s daily resource for business news. In addition to serving up exclusive trends, Q&As, and columns, the newsletter connects readers to top platforms and stories from across the sports landscape.

Place your brand in front of the Sport & Story Daily audience and connect with the most influential people in sports.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!

Feel free to read our Privacy Policy