Have your pencil & scorecards ready. The NFL has announced quite an extension with its national broadcast partners...for the next 9 years. It's believed the folks at FOX Sports, CBS Sports & NBC Sports will pay $1 billion apiece to continue broadcasting the NFL on their outlets through the year 2022, 2 years longer than the league's current Collective Bargaining Agreement between players & owners.

There are some notable changes viewers will notice when the new deals kick in. For starters, NBC will start broadcasting the third game of the league's annual Thanksgiving Day tripleheader starting next season, the one that had been airing on NFL Network the last couple of years. Come playoff time, instead of NBC airing both of Saturday's opening round Wildcard Playoff games like they do now, the network will exchange one of its 2 Wildcards for a Divisional Playoff Game. Under NBC's own NFL plan, the network will air 19 regular season games, all 17 games that make up "Sunday Night Football", plus the Thursday Night kickoff game in September & the Thanksgiving Night game starting next season. Additionally, NBC, which airs Super Bowl XLVI this February in Indianapolis, has also been awarded the broadcast rights to 3 future Super Bowls in 2015, 2018 & 2021. If that's not enough, NBC Universal-owned Telemundo will also air "SNF" games in Spanish under terms of the new deal with the league and there will be enhanced flex scheduling. Got all that so far?

CBS Sports, which has broadcasted AFC games since 1998, has flex rights of their own in their new deal with the league. In addition to AFC matchups, CBS will also be able to broadcast NFC games for the first time in the 52 years the "Eye" has broadcasted the NFL. CBS has next year's Super Bowl XLVII down in New Orleans, plus will also carry the Super Bowls in 2016, 2019 & 2022, the last year of the new deal.

If that's not enough, FOX Sports, which has broadcasted NFC games since 1994, will continue to air NFC games including Wildcard, Divisional Playoff, Conference Championship games and three more Super Bowls of their own. FOX, which aired Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, TX this past February, will have the broadcast rights to the 2017, 2020 & 2023 Super Bowls.

The new deal also allows the league to expand its "Thursday Night Football" package on NFL Network starting next year. NFLN, which isn't in as many homes as its other broadcast partners, currently airs 8 "TNF" matchups in prime time, including 1 game on Saturday night from November until the end of the regular season. NFLN will have the Jaguars/Falcons' game Thursday and Cowboys/Buccaneers this Saturday night.

If I read the playoffs right for NBC, instead of NBC doing the first day with 2 playoff games, they can flex 1 of those and just have 1 the first weekend, and also 1 the next weekend, a little suprised FOX and CBS would agree to that.

Also, seen this on ESPN, that possibly one of the first weekend games, Wild Card Round, 1 game could be on ESPN.

Style points given for eloquence, SHARK, but this is not true. What year did you start actively watching NFL games?

NSJ, if you are looking for proof...Check out the following.

http://sportsmedianews.com/cbs-and-nfl- ... ough-2022/

At least the thanksgiving night game is on NBC, that way any bar you go to will have it on.