The Walt Disney Co. could be forced to choose between salvaging its late-night franchise or protecting a multibillion-dollar partnership with the NFL, according to a report.
Well-embedded sources predicted to the news site Front Office Sports that the House of Mouse “may ultimately have to make a hard choice” that “may not be much of a choice at all” — which likely means jettisoning Jimmy Kimmel.
The stakes are enormous. ESPN recently struck a blockbuster deal with the NFL, trading a 10% equity stake valued around $2–$3 billion for the league’s NFL Network, RedZone and fantasy football assets.
The agreement requires regulatory approval from agencies working under Trump’s administration.
Insiders warned Front Office Sports that the president could seek to torpedo the pact.
Trump has a long, combative history with the league—from his failed 2014 bid to buy the Buffalo Bills to clashes over player protests and ESPN commentary.
Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary in the George W. Bush administration, told FOS that Trump could seize on the opportunity to possibly sabotage the NFL-ESPN pact, saying it would be “political catnip” for the president.
“Given his interest in the NFL, and his history of using media mergers for leverage, it’s hard to see him not playing around with this,” Fleischer told FOS.
“I doubt this will be a straightforward commercial transaction.”
The Post has sought comment from Disney and the NFL.
Disney subsidiary ABC abruptly pulled Kimmel’s long-running late night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air Wednesday after the comedian sparked outrage with remarks about the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel drew fire for suggesting Republicans were trying to “score political points” from Kirk’s murder and appeared to tie the alleged killer to President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.
The backlash quickly escalated into a political firestorm. Trump threatened to yank broadcast licenses from ABC and other networks that criticize him.
“All they do is hit Trump. They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that. They’re an arm of the Democrat party,” the president told reporters.
Pressed during a UK trip on whether free speech was under attack, Trump doubled down: “Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.”
“Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person, he had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago,” the president said.
“You can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent.”
The flap has created a corporate crisis for Disney CEO Bob Iger, who must navigate pressure from the White House while defending his network talent.
Former Disney boss Michael Eisner, a former C-suite rival of Iger’s, blasted the move and criticized his successor.
“Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the First Amendment?” Eisner wrote on his X account.
“The ‘suspending indefinitely’ of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC’s aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation.”
Here’s the latest on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension after Charlie Kirk comments
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has tried to keep relations warm, appearing with Trump at the Oval Office earlier this year to celebrate Washington, DC, being awarded the 2027 draft. The president also became the first sitting commander-in-chief to attend a Super Bowl in February.
But the Kimmel controversy has re-opened fault lines. Disney affiliates including Nexstar and Sinclair have already balked at airing the program without an apology.
Disney executives weighed Kimmel’s latest monologue and decided it risked further inflaming the dispute.
When Kimmel refused to retract, Iger and television chief Dana Walden ordered the show pulled, citing staff safety and advertiser concerns, according to reports.
Disney has offered no timetable for reinstating Kimmel. Insiders told Bloomberg that negotiations continue, with executives waiting to see whether political anger cools before deciding his fate.
Kimmel, who earns an estimated $16 million annually and has fronted ABC’s late-night lineup for 22 years, has not commented beyond social media posts defending his monologues.
His contract runs through 2026, and he has previously hinted at retiring when it expires.
Possible successors have already been floated.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who once guest-hosted Kimmel’s show, said on his YouTube channel: “To hear the news about Jimmy Kimmel being taken off the air, I was not happy about it. Not at all. Because I do think he’s a good man. I do think his heart is in the right place.”
Smith praised Kimmel, saying: “I do think he’s done an incredible service to the ABC and Walt Disney family spanning decades. His work and the level of results, the quality of results he’s produced over that span, speaks for itself.”
Smith added a warning: “This President seems to be on a mission.”
Behind the scenes, Disney executives have urged Kimmel to tone down his rhetoric in exchange for a return, according to published reports.
A Friday meeting between Kimmel and Walden about bringing the show back on the air ended without agreement. Kimmel has pressed for an on-air clarification, while executives fear that could inflame tensions.
