In a move that signals continued confidence in the NFL's broadcast future, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch announced during Monday's earnings call that the network will add two nationally-televised games to its existing package starting in 2026. This expansion comes at a pivotal moment when the relationship between the Murdoch family and the league has been under the microscope.

Despite recent tensions—including Rupert Murdoch's reported conversation with President Trump about the NFL's shift toward streaming—Lachlan Murdoch downplayed any friction, stating flatly that "there is really no tension with the NFL." But when you look at the broader picture, it's hard not to wonder what it would actually take to create tension in this relationship.

Here's the backstory: Rupert Murdoch reportedly told President Trump in February that the NFL's growing emphasis on streaming could "kill the networks" if left unchecked. Then, the Wall Street Journal—a Murdoch-owned powerhouse—published an editorial questioning whether the NFL still deserves its broadcast antitrust exemption, especially as games increasingly move to paid streaming platforms. The league, according to insiders, suspected Murdoch was orchestrating a multi-front pressure campaign, including federal scrutiny of its media rights deals.

The situation escalated further on Sunday when President Trump addressed the rising cost of watching football, claiming fans are paying $1,000 per game—a figure that's not entirely accurate, but the message was clear: the issue has reached the highest levels of government, and the White House isn't happy about it.

As the dust settled on a Monday packed with developments, Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal tweeted a pointed observation: "I'm sure there is no correlation between the DOJ probe into sports broadcasting and..."—leaving fans and analysts to connect the dots themselves.

For now, Fox is doubling down on its NFL commitment, adding more games to a lineup that already includes some of the season's biggest matchups. Whether the Murdoch-NFL relationship remains as smooth as Lachlan claims will depend on how the league navigates the streaming revolution—and how far the government is willing to go to protect the traditional broadcast model.