• Sprint Nextel blocking the way of an NFL iPhone app
All of the NFL fans that are hoping for an iPhone app similar to the MLB At Bat app will have to wait until 2010 or later.
The reason being that Sprint has the NFL mobile game on lock through the end of next year, and they’re paying a fat chunk for the rights.
Not happening, says an NFL rep. Sprint Nextel (S) pays the league $50 million a year to be its exclusive wireless sponsor/content partner, a deal that runs through 2009. And Sprint’s rival AT&T (T) has an exclusive on Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, reportedly through 2010. Which suggests the iPhone app store is off limits for the NFL at least through 2009, and perhaps beyond.
Major League Baseball sold about 140,000 copies of MLB At Bat, its iPhone app. Assuming they all sold for $5 each, MLB made almost $500,000 after Apple’s 30% cut. An impressive amount for a first shot at a new mobile platform. But not quite $50 million a year.
Owners of the iPhone can use the NFL’s mobile website or Plusmo’s NFL widget but neither compare to the video highlights and other features of the iPhone’s MLB app. There’s no guarantee that an NFL app will ever be available considering the amount of money Sprint’s willing to throw down.
