Mike Francesa Wrecks ‘Greedy’ NFL for Putting Playoff Game Exclusively on Peacock Streaming Service: ‘The Ultimate Slap in the Face!’

NY sports radio host Mike Francesa blasted the NFL for making one of the most anticipated playoff games of the season a Peacock exclusive.

In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that NBC secured the rights to broadcast a playoff game exclusively on the streaming service. The deal for the single game — the Saturday primetime game on wildcard weekend — was reportedly worth more than $100 million.

With playoff seeding set, the NFL announced the Peacock-exclusive game would be between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins. For Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, it will be a return to his first NFL home at Arrowhead Stadium.

Naturally, fans who aren’t subscribed to Peacock were furious. Many accused the NFL of putting one of the most compelling storylines of the playoffs behind a paywall.

Francesa shared that sentiment on Monday’s episode of The Mike Francesa Podcast.

“This is a joke that the NFL would do this with their playoff product,” Francesa said. “It’s bad enough they would do it with a regular season game on a Thursday night, or do it with a regular season game on a Saturday; but to do it with a playoff game is the biggest slap in the face to their national fanbase.

“People wait all year for these playoff games. They love these playoff games; and you’re gonna now charge them extra for a playoff game? They don’t give enough? You don’t make enough?”

Francesa mentioned the significant price tag NBC paid for the exclusive rights, arguing that the NFL would be wise to avoid such deals in the future.

“Is this the wave of the future?” Francesa said. “They’re gonna have a hard time doing it with playoff games because there’s gonna be a tremendous fallout from there; and there should be because it is the utterly disgraceful, greedy reach by the NFL. Like they don’t make enough money. Like their fans don’t go into their pocket for jerseys, for all kinds of NFL merchandise, for tickets that are very expensive across the country. (Like) they don’t show up and are there religiously every Sunday, and now you’re gonna charge them for a playoff game?

“It is the ultimate slap in the face to the best and most ardent and most dramatically important fanbase in America.”

Listen above via BetRivers Network