Roger Goodell held little back in regards to the idea that Thursday Night Football could potentially be flexed in the near future with Monday Night Football set to be flexed soon as well.
Speaking at media days at the Super Bowl in Arizona, Goodell was asked about possibly flexing Thursday Night Football in the near future, and he was not only open to the idea, but made it sound like that was a likely route to take. The NFL already addressed that soon Monday Night Football will adopt flex scheduling.
“Not today, but it’ll certainly be something that’s on our horizon,” Goodell said on the idea of flex scheduling.
That means that all three primetime slots, including Sunday Night Football, could adopt flex scheduling. It is unlikely to be popular among teams, and they may to set an even broader timeline on that so teams can be prepared for it, but with the move to Amazon, it seems this is something that will come to fruition.
Many of the Thursday Night Football games drew low ratings due to perceived bad matchups in the NFL community. The Steelers-Browns game, for example, drew rave reviews and ratings, but other games plummeted to some of the lowest in a primetime game this season.
As such, with Goodell leaving that door open to flex scheduling, don’t be surprised if the push back on the idea comes shortly thereafter these statements. Regardless, the large deal with Amazon brought in money, and the NFL is inclined to deliver, so they will look to do that in any way they possibly can.