CBS executive vice president James T. Aubrey, Jr., who on May 9, 1963, warned the network's affiliates the high cost of rights for professional sports could price them off television, nevertheless in January 1964 agreed to pay $28.2 million to air the games of the National Football League for two years, seventeen games each season. ""We know how much these games mean to the viewing audience, our affiliated stations, and the nation's advertisers,"" Aubrey told The New York Times. As previously mentioned, in April 1964, he agreed to extend the deal for another year for a total of $31.8 million.