The NFL is set to unveil its broadcast schedule for the upcoming season this Thursday, and as always, it's a high-stakes game off the field. For networks, the schedule release is as crucial as the NFL Draft is for teams—a strong lineup can send advertisers scrambling for prime commercial slots, while a weaker one leaves broadcasters struggling to keep up with competitors.

This year, however, one network could be facing a particularly tough hand—if the league decides to play hardball.

Last week, word got out about what the NFL likely knew all along: Rupert Murdoch and Fox launched a pressure campaign against the league. Using their close ties to President Donald Trump, they pushed for federal investigations into the NFL's broadcast practices by the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission. These probes target the heart of the NFL's business model, threatening the limited antitrust exemption that lets the league bundle rights for all 32 teams. Fox's goal? To keep games on traditional TV instead of shifting to streaming in future rights negotiations.

It's an unprecedented power move against a sports giant, and it could backfire spectacularly. Neither the FCC inquiry nor the DOJ investigation is expected to lead to any real action against the NFL. And if the league decides to replace Fox with a streaming partner down the line, the network could find itself completely out of the game.

But for now, the NFL might send a more immediate message—by giving Fox a lackluster 2026-27 schedule. It's a tactic the league has used before. Remember the weak Monday Night Football lineups in the late 2010s? That wasn't an accident. It was the NFL's way of responding to ESPN's in-depth reporting on sensitive league issues. If history is any guide, Fox could be in for a similar treatment.