The NFL had been the last major pro sports league to resist placing part of its postseason on cable. Until today.

It was announced this morning that ESPN will air one of the wildcard games during the opening weekend of the playoffs this year. NBC, which had aired both wildcard games, now will get a divisional playoff game.

The ESPN release included this passage:

“The NFL and ESPN reached a new eight-year extension in 2011 for Monday Night Football and broad studio, multimedia and international rights. The agreement – which began this spring and extends through the 2021 NFL season – provides the NFL with an option to air a postseason Wild Card playoff game on ESPN, which the NFL has opted to exercise this season.”

According to John Ourand and Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily, ESPN will pay $100 million season to air the game. Also, in the speculation department, could this move be a prelude to the NFL eventually expanding its postseason to include more games?

ESPN always has been a good partner and seemed worthy of airing a postseason game. Previously, the NFL had wanted to keep its big January games on the traditional broadcast networks.

The migration of big sporting events to cable is accelerating. It only was a matter of time before the NFL joined the party.

One playoff game may not seem like much, but this is yet another sign that when the current NFL TV deal expires after the 2021 season, all bets are off for what could happen regarding how we’ll watch pro football in the next decade.

I’m looking forward to watching the 2023 Super Bowl via the Microsoft chip that gets inserted in my brain.