Report: 'Growing concern' President Donald Trump could try to delay, block NFL-ESPN deal

As ESPN and the NFL look to complete their billion-dollar deal, The White House could step in. There is “growing concern” President Donald Trump could try to delay or block the agreement, Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy reported.

As part of the deal, Disney would acquire NFL RedZone and other NFL Media assets, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported. ESPN would also have the rights to seven regular season games, the league’s fantasy football business, the potential to integrate special features like betting and potentially more assets.

The deal could be worth billions of dollars, according to The Athletic, and the NFL is expected to get up to a 10% stake in ESPN. However, there’s a sense Trump could step in, giving the magnitude of the agreement.

“What if Trump decides to stick his beak in?” a source told FOS. “This is a massive deal. It will require government oversight and approval. And we all know how Trump likes to poke the NFL from time to time.”

An announcement regarding the ESPN-NFL deal is expected next week, per The Athletic. Disney has its earnings call Aug. 6. Since the two sides are reportedly ready to announce, another source told FOS that could mean they’re not concerned about whether Trump could delay or block the agreement.

What NFL deal could mean for ESPN’s DTC service

The pending acquisition of RedZone comes as ESPN gets ready to launch its direct-to-consumer product. The app – which will cost $29.99 per month – will formally debut in the next few weeks, and RedZone will be a key selling point if the deal goes through. Additionally, ESPN also brought Rich Eisen back to its airwaves starting Sept. 2, and his eponymous show will air on ESPN’s DTC service.

“Once we struck a deal with Disney for the video version of The Rich Eisen Show, it made complete sense to migrate the audio version to ESPN Radio, where I got started in the terrestrial radio world almost 30 years ago,” Eisen said in a statement. “It’s just another way to return to my roots with my old and now new friends at ESPN and GKB. I couldn’t be more excited about our future together on multiple platforms.”

It’s unclear when exactly the ESPN-NFL deal would take effect. However, should it do so by next season, it would coincide with ESPN’s first Super Bowl during the 2026-27 campaign.