Pigs get fat. Hogs get slaughtered. Hippos just open their mouths and take more.
In 2010, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell created a revenue target for the sport he controls: $25 million annually by 2027.
As of four years ago, the NFL had made it to $15 billion. Adding another $10 billion per year in only eight years seemed overly ambitious. But it still might be doable.
Via FrontOfficeSports.com, national revenue of $12 billion in 2022 could mean, when local revenue is added, $20 billion in total revenue for the entire operation.
Growth in media rights and gambling revenues has nudged the numbers higher. But with the current TV deals locked in through 2029 at the earliest, the league will need to get the final $5 billion per year from somewhere else by 2027.
Coincidentally (or not), Goodell’s contract runs into 2027. It’s almost as if he knew in 2010 that he planned to stay on the job for 17 more years.
If so, that part of his objective apparently will be realized; the unsettled question is whether the hippo that is Big Shield can expand its jaws wide enough to get another $5 billion per year within the next four.
