SI

The NFL Is Missing Out on a Massive Free-Agency Content Opportunity

ESPN, NFL Network and fans would benefit from a prime-time show showcasing the opening of the free-agent signing period.
Jimmy Traina|
‘The Pat McAfee Show’ will anchor ESPN’s free-agency coverage on Monday.
‘The Pat McAfee Show’ will anchor ESPN’s free-agency coverage on Monday. | ESPN

1. ESPN and the NFL Network have big plans for the important day.

The Pat McAfee Show will handle free-agency coverage on ESPN from noon to 3 p.m. Adam Schefter, Dan Orlovsky and Peter Schrager will join McAfee and his crew in studio.

The NFL Network’s coverage on Monday will begin at 10 a.m. with a show called Free Agency Frenzy. The show will feature about a billion people, so I’m not going to list them all or I’ll miss my deadline.

Given how big the opening day of the free-agent signing period has become in recent years, it’s surprising the NFL isn’t trying to make this a bigger prime-time television event.

This is an entity that has made a TV show out of the schedule release. You’d think free agency would also warrant a prime-time slot.

Most people are at work at noon on a Monday. The league should push the opening of free agency to 7 p.m. This way more people could watch the coverage on ESPN and NFL Network.

The counterargument to this idea is that most NFL fans get free-agency information on their phones so who cares about a free-agency show. But given that Schefter basically breaks every signing, ESPN could easily ask him to report it on the TV show first and then push on social media right after.

If the signings were broken on a live television show instead of on social media, it would be electric. ESPN can use a jingle when there’s a signing, like they do when the pick is ready at the NFL draft. They can have Schefter announce the signings like a WWE ring announcer. Actually, this would be a perfect job for McAfee given that he is a WWE commentator.

There’s so much more the NFL, ESPN and the NFL Network could do if they wanted to turn the opening of free agency into a television event and there’s no doubt it would be a ratings success for all involved.

2. Puck’s John Ourand, who was a guest on last week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina, dropped this eye-opening nugget in his latest newsletter.

“Originally, network executives believed that the NFL would look to wrap its media rights negotiations at some point in the fall. Now, however, they increasingly believe that the NFL wants to have new deals in place before the new season starts in September.”

Ourand reported that the NFL has already reached out to CBS (Paramount) to begin talks and that Fox will be next up to renegotiate its deal with the league.

The significance here is that while streamers will get more and more NFL games, all indications are that CBS and Fox will keep their Sunday afternoon packages for many years to come.

3. Memo to Russell Westbrook: If your team is 14–50, like the Kings are, just lay low and don’t act like a bully with the media.

4. March Madness has come early. Look at what happened in this Iowa high school basketball game Thursday night. If the guy handling play-by-play duties is a high school student, he has a bright future, because he did a hell of a job capturing the insanity.

5. I have no idea if this is true or not, but Tom Brady is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. WrestleMania takes place in Las Vegas this year. And there is some fake beef Brady is having with Logan Paul, so maybe this is true and we’ll be seeing the GOAT at ‘Mania on April 18.

6. This week’s episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with CNBC media and sports reporter Alex Sherman.

Sherman talks about the big deal with Paramount buying Warner Brothers Discovery and how that will affect sports fans. Will TNT events air on CBS? Will this cause streaming prices to increase? Will this affect CBS Sports Network?

Sherman also talks about how the NFL is about to have a major impact on all other sports when it comes to rights deals, the FCC looking into sports and streaming, the rise of Kalshi and Polymarket and much more.

Following Sherman, Sal Licata from SNY TV and The Sal Licata Show joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include Sal’s non-vacation vacation, the WBC, the Yankees retiring CC Sabathia’s number, a ridiculous take from Bruce Pearl and more. In addition, I read some reader emails and Apple reviews.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I had no idea that Larry David once did the Top 10 List on David Letterman’s show until I saw the video last night.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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