NBC Keeps the AFC as CBS Gets Shut Out : Pro football: CBS loses out even though its bid was higher than NBC’s.

The NFL on CBS is over, and football Sundays won’t look the same on television next year.

The NFL completed its television package for the next four years on Monday, awarding the AFC to NBC despite receiving a higher bid from CBS, which lost the NFC to Fox on Friday.

“It’s a terrible disappointment. Sadness. And it comes as something of a surprise,” CBS Sports President Neal Pilson said.

The announcement came two days after the NFL confirmed it had awarded the NFC, which had belonged to CBS, to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox network. Fox bid an astounding $1.58 billion for four years of NFC games, outbidding CBS by about $100 million per year.

CBS then immediately put in a bid of $250 million a year for the AFC, outbidding NBC by about $30 million per year.

“We didn’t worry about that,” NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol said. “On Thursday, we made a gentlemen’s agreement on the AFC.”

Sources said that some owners wanted to go with the highest bidder but were persuaded to honor the agreement with NBC.

Ebersol said he was never told what CBS bid, nor did the NFL ever ask him to up his bid.

In addition to the AFC games, NBC also will get two Super Bowls, in 1996 and ’98. On Saturday, the NFL made the formal announcement about Fox, which also got the 1997 Super Bowl. ABC retains rights to Monday night games, gets the Pro Bowl back from ESPN and will televise the 1995 Super Bowl.

Neither the NFL nor the networks would confirm dollar figures. However, a source close to the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the total package was worth about 20% more than the previous four-year deal, which amounted to $3.62 billion.

That would put it in the area of $4.3 billion. In addition to the $1.58 billion bid by Fox, NBC will pay an estimated $880 million for the AFC, up from the $752 million it paid last time around. ABC will pay about $950 million for Monday nights, up from the $925 million it paid the last four years. And the ESPN and TNT deals remain at about $450 million apiece.