NFL continues to rake in cash almost without having to even do anything

The NFL’s regular season TV ratings haven’t gone up in a decade, but that hasn’t stopped money falling on the league like the confetti dropping after the Super Bowl.

And two recent announcements illustrate why NFL revenue is likely to continue to skyrocket. The first one was the league’s letter to the teams that the salary cap will go up at least $22 million this year after going up a record $30 million last year.

That was followed by an even bigger announcement when Bela Bajaria, the chief content officer at Netflix, said the company may want to bid on a Sunday package.

Netflix dipped its toe in the water when it did Christmas Day games, but now it may be ready to be a major player. And the NFL likes having a global streamer to grow their international market.

Fox and CBS currently have the two Sunday afternoon packages. They run until 2033 but the league has the option to end them four years early.

Both have the right to match whatever offer Netflix makes, so the NFL gets more money regardless of whether Netflix gets a a contract.

Fox figures to match any bid because the Murdoch family owns it, and it is a central part of a network that doesn’t have a news division and has limited prime-time offerings. They got the NFC package in 1994 when Laurence Tisch, then head of CBS, declined to match the offer. CBS then got the AFC package in 1998.

Whether CBS would match is an open question because it is uncertain who will be owning the network in the future. Currently, CBS pays $2.1 billion a year and Fox pays $2.2 billion to the NFL.

The minus for fans if Netflix gets a Sunday package is they have to subscribe to Netflix to watch the games, and even if they do, it is a convoluted process to go back and forth between streaming and network TV if you want to check in on another game or Red Zone. And going back to check out a play is more difficult when you are streaming. It is obvious streaming is better for watching movies than sports.

If Netflix doesn’t get a Sunday package, there is a chance the league could still carve out an international package for them.

Either way, the NFL is going to continue get a gusher of money, even if the ratings don’t increase.

The best thing the league does these days is make money, even if the games aren’t as good as they once were.