Gronk and Julian Edelman weigh in on NFL streaming and global expansion

The National Football League today is certainly a lot different than it was less than two decades ago.

The schedule has grown to 17 games, of which 18 are certainly not excluded. These games are now played in more places than ever around the world, and you may need many subscription services to watch your favorite teams.

It’s another world that has its pros and cons, but the pros don’t seem to be on the side of fans, who are spending more money than ever to watch their favorite teams.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club

To catch all the action throughout the 2025 season, fans had to fork out at least $575, and some spent almost $800.

“I’m all about having games on the mainstream. I watched games growing up, all the games on the mainstream. I actually didn’t watch a lot of games this year because it was on a streaming network, and it was hard to set up an account really quickly, wherever I was on the road, you know, in a hotel room. I wasn’t at home. I’m all on the mainstream,” future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview. “I understand the business side of the NFL, and as a businessman, I’ll never hate the way it’s done because it’s all about business, you know? You’ve got to keep growing, you’ve got to get money and all that good stuff. So you can’t hate it, but I’m a traditional guy.”

“It sucks… There’s some upside to this thing and then there’s definitely some downside where everyone has to be like, ‘Where are we going for this game, this game, this game, this game?'” Gronk’s former teammate Julian Edelman added. “So I think there’s a lot of good things about it, and clearly there are things that, you know, aren’t good. So that’s where I’m at.”

PATRIOTS SUPER BOWL APPEARANCE WASN’T A FLUKE, TEAM LEGENDS SAY: ‘THEY’RE FOR REAL’

New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman raises his hands in celebration with tight end Rob Gronkowski after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Danny Amendola during the third quarter of the NFL Divisional Playoff football game at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

The NFL has also talked more about player safety, but the talk of playing 18 games is real and the NFL will play in Australia later this year.

But Edelman feels little sympathy for today’s players, given their contracts.

“You see what these guys are signing for? They’re going to be fine,” Edelman said. “The bigger the game gets, the more the guys will get paid, and that will make them look a lot better overall. So I think it’s a good thing for the league once the game gets bigger internationally, because if the game gets bigger, the players will get paid more. So I’m all for that.

“I mean, [Jaxon Smith-Njigba] I just received $42 million (per year) as escrow. I think the bigger the game gets, I think it’s better for everyone… Would I have liked it as a player to play 18 games? No, but we’re making the game bigger. It’s a double-edged sword. It’s going to suck because it’s going to hurt a lot more, but the revenue is going to be higher.”

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski celebrates with teammate Julian Edelman after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter. (Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

“That’s why the salary cap keeps increasing every year. The game is expanding,” Gronkowski added. “And on top of that, the NFL does a really good job with the schedule. For example, the Australia game this year, it’ll be the opening game of the year on a Wednesday or Thursday, and then when they come back, they’ll earn all that time.

“So they have all this time to go there, adjust, stay there for five days, and then they can go back to L.A. and then boom, they land and gain a day back, and then they can recover for three days and then have a normal week. Man. Really.”