Netflix could have bigger NFL ambitions than a single Sunday afternoon package

Netflix gave an otherwise slow week of NFL news a kick in the tuchus, thanks to podcast-interview comments from its chief content office Bela Bajaria.

She said Netflix would want Sunday afternoon games. That opened the door for a guessing game regarding which of the two packages the company will target —- the AFC-centric slate currently held by CBS, or the NFC package over which Fox has had a hammerlock for 30 years?

Why not both?

Sparked by an email from a reader that broached the possibility, my impaired brain remembered something I'd heard from a high-level source several years ago. In time, the league could sell multiple packages to a single tech company, which would then re-sell the rights to broadcast networks. Throw in the fact that the league's current Sunday Ticket model, which required YouTube TV to charge a premium in order to placate CBS and Fox, creates ongoing antitrust exposure, and the prospect of selling all Sunday afternoon games to a single entity like Netflix makes sense.

Here's an example of how it would look. Netflix pays a massive fee for the universal collection of 1:00 p.m. ET, 4:05 p.m. ET, and 4:25 p.m. ET games. Netflix then sells the broadcast rights to one or more of the four three-letter networks — CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC.

In every market, the status quo for the viewer would remain. There would be three games (typically) available through "free" TV on every given Sunday, including the games of the closest team geographically. Netflix would then make all other games available through a Sunday Ticket-style offering for streaming.

Because the league would be selling all Sunday afternoon rights directly to Netflix (at the proper sum), it would be for Netflix to figure out how best to strike the balance between ensuring proper value for the broadcast networks, which loathe Sunday Ticket, and generating adequate revenue for the premium Sunday Ticket offering. The NFL would no longer be caught in the middle, erasing any and all fingerprints and breadcrumb trails that would potentially create further antitrust liability for the league.

The challenge for Netflix would be making the requisite investment in up to 13 Sunday games every week a good one. Regardless, under this model, Netflix would become the exclusive supplier to the various networks, and it would be the lone provider of Sunday Ticket.

It could charge whatever it wants, as long as people will pay. It could make out-of-market games cheaper. It could allow fans to purchase one team, one weekend, or even one game at a time.

Along the way, Netflix would boost its profile tremendously, putting it on par (if not above) the established networks. And if Netflix were to require at least a basic membership plan for anyone who purchases out-of-market games, Netflix will emerge as the lone must-have streamer in an ever-growing sea of options.

I've got no idea whether this could happen. Or whether Netflix is even considering it. But we've sensed enough consternation in the aftermath of the reaction to Bajaria's comments to spark speculation as to the company's true goals. Its rivals are surely doing the same.

Which could ultimately explain why Netflix has been scraping up the toothpaste over the past few days. If it's planning to make the kind of dramatic move that will shock and awe competitors and customers alike, it's critical to keep anyone from seeing it coming.