NFL commits to advertising on X despite boycott calls

The NFL just can't quit Twitter, now known as X.

America's most popular sports league doesn't plan on joining other high-profile companies that have suspended their own campaigns on the social media platform in light of Elon Musk's latest controversy where he appears to have endorsed an antisemitic post. 

In an interview on Tuesday with CNBC's Julia Boostin, the league's chief and media business officer Brian Rolapp said “I think X is in a very difficult business because of the content moderation that they have to deal with. We continue to work with them because our fans are clearly there.”

No other comment has been made about the league's presence on X, but this is not the first time the NFL has been questioned about advertising on the service. 

In late September, Media Matters reported that some of the league's ads were placed in the accounts of well-known white nationalists, all individuals with at least one million followers. 

Musk filed a lawsuit against Media Matters for its reporting on more companies having their ads knowingly placed alongside content that praises Nazis.

At some point, however, the worthiness of advertising on X will be made abundantly clear to the league as Musk doubles and even triples down on defending himself on the platform. X has lost more than half of its value — now reportedly at $20B — since the South African businessman was compelled to follow through on his purchase in October 2022 for $44B. 

While those numbers are staggering, they're not as damning as the true operating data, which has shown that ad revenues in the United States have dropped each month since his takeover.

It's enough that the NFL is carrying TV networks on its back and has been for some time. (Not to mention giving ESPN some of its best traditional TV ratings in recent memory.) Yet it sounds like it's also dragging a once-thriving social network as well, a sign of real trouble for Musk and X once the last piece of confetti falls after a champion is crowned in the Super Bowl.