Some NFL owners reportedly have zero interest in the league’s plans to add Thursday night games on Amazon Prime to the league’s flex scheduling.
Flex scheduling has become a useful tool for the NFL to keep their broadcast partners happy. With the parody in the league, sometimes their best efforts to offer worthwhile matchups on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday night don’t always work out. After years of Sunday and Monday Night Football games delivering duds in the ratings. the NFL added the option to move games around on the schedule to bring more balance to their multi-day slate.
NFL fans have come accustomed to games being flexed out of originally scheduled spots late in the season, however, some new plans are worrying the league’s owners.
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Last week, it was reported that the decision-makers were seriously considering being able to flex games in and out of their Thursday night schedule. After signing a billion-dollar deal with Amazon in 2021, the NFL wants to offer its new broadcast partner more interesting games after a lackluster 2022 slate.
However, on Tuesday Front Office Sports reported that “There’s resistance to the NFL’s plan to roll out flex scheduling for Amazon’s ‘Thursday Night Football,'” and quoted one owner who told the outlet, “I don’t think everyone likes it.”
The proposal which could be voted on by NFL owners today would allow for Sunday afternoon games to be flexed to Amazon Prime starting in Week 14. Teams reportedly would be giving 15 days’ notice on planned switches from playing on Sunday to Thursday, which is a monumental difference when factoring in rest and recovery days for such a brutal sport.
“In preparation for the discussion among owners, the NFL has rolled out data showing that injury rates for Thursday games are on par with Sunday and Monday games. Privately, however, some owners consider Thursday prime-time games a burden with only three full days’ rest.”
– Front Office Sports
Furthermore, fans that plan out trips to games well in advance may not be in support of the switch, and then there are CBS and Fox, the largest holders of NFL content who may not be overjoyed by losing games to Amazon Prime.
