NASCAR doesn’t operate in a vacuum, and with the NFL preparing for a massive new TV rights negotiation, the ripple effects could reach far beyond football. As billions more flood into pro football, the question becomes: where does that leave stock car racing when the next media deal comes around?

• If the National Football League jumps from $10B to $20B+ per year, who gets squeezed financially?
• Could networks like Fox Sports or NBC Sports scale back NASCAR to afford football?
• Would streamers like Amazon Prime Video or Netflix reshape how races are distributed?
• And could this pressure finally force NASCAR to shorten its 36-race schedule?

With executives like Steve O’Donnell already hinting that the schedule may not always stay at 36 races, the timing of the NFL’s next deal could dramatically impact NASCAR’s leverage heading into its own future negotiations. More money at the top of the sports world doesn’t always trickle down — sometimes it pulls the ladder up.

Watch Also: