Commissioner Pete Rozelle said he wants to...

Commissioner Pete Rozelle said he wants to stay with the three major networks when the NFL’s television contract expires in 1987 but that a court order or other circumstances could eventually force the league to pursue other options, such as the pay or cable networks.

“The only reason I would say we’d go elsewhere would be if we were forced to,” Rozelle told a group of international radio and TV executives.

The most compelling reason to go elsewhere, Rozelle reiterated, is the USFL’s $1.32-billion antitrust suit against the NFL. The suit claims that the NFL monopolizes the three networks.