Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and the National Football League announced a landmark agreement under which the league will receive a 10% ownership stake in ESPN in exchange for transferring most of its media properties, including NFL Network, RedZone distribution rights and NFL Fantasy, to the sports broadcaster. Neither side disclosed a price, but analysts value ESPN at about $25 billion to $30 billion, implying the NFL’s new stake could be worth roughly $2.5 billion to $3 billion. The transaction deepens ties between the country’s most-watched sports league and one of its largest broadcast partners at a time when media companies are seeking new models to fund escalating rights costs. ESPN will own and operate NFL Network and fold it into a direct-to-consumer streaming service expected to launch soon for $29.99 a month, while continuing carriage on cable and satellite systems. The deal also allows ESPN to distribute the NFL’s RedZone channel to pay-TV operators and merge NFL Fantasy with ESPN Fantasy Football, creating a single official fantasy platform. The league will retain ownership of RedZone and certain other assets such as NFL Films and NFL+, and will keep digital distribution rights for RedZone. ESPN will license three additional NFL games per season for NFL Network, with four contests moving off ESPN’s schedule to maintain the network’s slate of seven games a year. The agreement remains subject to definitive documentation, regulatory review and approval by NFL club owners. Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said the partnership will give fans “even more compelling” football coverage, while Commissioner Roger Goodell called the sale of NFL Network to ESPN a step toward bringing more games to more viewers across platforms.