‘There’s something very sad when they take football away from many, many people, very sad. I don’t like it’
President Donald Trump says he’s “not happy” about the National Football League’s actions to move the broadcast of many free games on TV to expensive pay channels, warning: “They could be killing the golden goose.”
The U.S. Department of Justice is probing the NFL over potential anticompetitive tactics, stemming from questions about “affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers,” a government official told CNBC.
During Sunday’s broadcast of “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson,” the president was asked: “Your Justice Department is investigating the NFL for moving a lot of viewers from free broadcast television to more expensive pay programming like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Peacock and YouTube where the NFL makes more money.
“Do you think this is price gouging on America’s favorite sport and should the government do anything about it?”
Trump responded: “It’s tough. You got people that love football. They’re great people. They don’t make enough money to go and pay this. It’s tough and they could be killing the golden goose.”
“They have to be careful because others have tried this and all of a sudden, you don’t have a sport anymore.”ADVERTISEMENT
He continued: “There’s something very sad when they take football away from many, many people, very sad. I don’t like it.”
“They’re making a lot of money. They could make a little bit less. They could let the people see [more games for free]. You have people that live for Sunday. They can’t think about anything else, and then all of the sudden they’re gonna have to pay $1,000 a game? It’s crazy. So I’m not happy about it.”
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The league told CNBC its media distribution model is “the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry,” indicating more than 87% of NFL games are on free, broadcast TV.
“The NFL has for decades put our fans front and center in how we distribute our content. The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans,” the league said.
Meanwhile, Trump also expressed his personal disdain for a recent NFL rule requiring football teams to declare an onside kick any time they attempt one.
“They have that stupid kickoff thing that you can’t watch. It’s unwatchable,” Trump noted.