Did Mr Beast buy NFL? What we know amid viral YouTube clip

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is known for making headlines with his attention-grabbing stunts and videos. He recently made headlines and has people left wondering if he actually bought the National Football League (NFL). In his latest viral video, he seemingly announced that he had purchased the league.

Despite how real the video looked, it wasn't true. MrBeast didn't buy the NFL. In fact, according to USA Today, the entire production was a promotional show for YouTube's partnership with the NFL.

The video was designed to build hype for the first-ever regular season NFL game on YouTube.

The upcoming game on September 5 that will be streamed for free on YouTube is the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.

Goodell himself leaned into the gag, even joking that he is a subscriber for MrBeast's new vision for the sport.

The parody was meant to blur the line of reality and entertainment—something MrBeast has done in the past.

Just to be clear, no one person owns the NFL. The NFL is made up of 32 franchises, with each franchise being owned by a lead stakeholder, except for the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers are publicly owned by hundreds of thousands of shareholder owners and managed by a board of directors. Roger Goodell is the commissioner of the NFL, representing the league and its interests, but is not an owner.

Breaking down MrBeast’s viral NFL clip and his billionaire status

On September 3, 2025, a video titled “I Bought the NFL” was posted by MrBeast. In the video, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared at a press conference announcing that the league now had new ownership.

"Today marks an historic first. The NFL is now under the ownership of one individual, Jimmy Donaldson, Mr. Beast," Goodell said in the video.

MrBeast then went on to the stage to announce the supposed takeover, and he already indicated that he was making changes.

He said his first order of business was to expand rosters from 53 players to 54 and reserve that additional roster slot for YouTubers.

The rest of the video featured familiar internet personalities from Dude Perfect to iShow Speed, from Haley Baylee to Brooke Monk being drafted to NFL teams and even training camps.

While MrBeast has not purchased the NFL, he has had a lot of financial growth and influence over the years. Forbes profiled him in July of this year, estimating his earnings at approximately $85 million in the previous year, although MrBeast described that figure as "not even remotely accurate".

MrBeast CONFIRMS he's a billionaire. 😳💰 pic.twitter.com/2e5GYQWVjw

— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) February 21, 2025

Nevertheless, MrBeast has over 430 million subscribers on his platforms, and his production companies, Feastables and Beast Games have allowed MrBeast to raise the valuation of his Company into the billions.

In February of 2025, MrBeast noted he had "technically" become a billionaire "on paper." But he clarified that he invests most of his income and assets into projects and content.

"In my actual bank account, I have less than a million dollars, I just like to reinvest it all... I also have some assistants and things like that, so I just try to pay myself what I spend personally a month just to stay even," the YouTuber added.

The internet may have had fun dreaming about a league of YouTubers, but the NFL remains under the control of the NFL’s 32 franchises.

However, the video showcased MrBeast’s capabilities to combine entertainment and reality, and to generate conversations on a scale much larger than YouTube.