ESPN Secures NFL Draft Broadcast Rights Until 2030

ESPN has locked in a deal to keep broadcasting the NFL draft through 2030. This news came out on a Wednesday morning, but the details were a bit fuzzy at first. It turns out the deal is for five years, which means it lines up with when the current NFL broadcast contracts are set to end. The deal isn't exclusive, so the NFL can still sell draft rights to other networks. This is a smart move because it keeps options open. But there's a question about what happens with the NFL Network's coverage of the draft. ESPN is taking over NFL Network, so it might not make sense to have two separate productions. However, ESPN already has multiple draft productions, so maybe it's not a big deal. The NFL and ESPN might worry about ESPN changing the look and feel of NFL Network. To keep things consistent, they might want to keep the NFL Network's draft coverage as is. Even if combining the productions could save money, it might not be worth the hassle.