Netflix wants to expand its relationship with the NFL

Netflix seems to have a business strategy of being deliberately vague about its words, allowing its actions to do the speaking. And that's not a bad strategy. It keeps competitors on their toes. It also allows Netflix to eventually say that what it gets is exactly what it wanted.

The reality remains that most of the packages will be available after 2029, with the Monday night games coming up after 2030. Given the new pressure on the NFL regarding the potential limits of its antitrust exemption, the easiest packages to shift to Netflix would be the two that are currently on paid platforms: Thursday night on Amazon and Monday night on ESPN.

This assumes the NFL even cares about the potential consequences of plucking another package from free TV. If it doesn't, Netflix could be in play to get whatever it's willing to pay for.

Maybe, in the end, it won't be a traditional package. Maybe Netflix will have an annual selection of, say, 10 games that will include the first game of the season, one or more international games that land in prime-time windows, a Halloween game, a Veterans Day game, a Thanksgiving Eve game, one or more Thanksgiving games, one or more Black Friday games, a Christmas Eve game, one or more Christmas games, the last game of the regular season, and/or other games that don't fit within the parameters of the traditional weekly windows.

However it goes, it's safe to think more games will be going to Netflix. Sooner or later and probably sooner.