I try to look at this through the other end of the telescope. The game is maximizing the amount that can be extracted from the consumer. What would the consumer be willing to pay the most for, what is there actual demand for?
To me that answer has always seemed pretty clear, for the four major pro leagues to band together and sell a market-by-market product of the games for the local teams.
If a service is the only place to see the Cubs, Bulls, White Sox, and Blackhawks (the NFL's participation/role in this kind of thing is definitely cloudy), that's something that a very large share of households in Chicago (and lots of households across the country, a market that is currently underexploited) will prioritize in their home entertainment budgets.
(Where does that leave college? Search me.)
As with everything in this space, the devil is in the details and no arrangement patches up the hole that exists because you can't make every granny in America who never watches sports send $30 a month to the sports industry anymore.