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- The NFL is reportedly planning on doing some new and different things to next year’s schedule.
- Among the changes being discussed is playing games on days the league hasn’t in the past.
- Read more news about the NFL here.
With the 2021 NFL season now in the books, the league is turning its eyes to the 2022 season and things like the schedule.
A few very different and perhaps controversial changes the NFL is discussing involve having games on days and at times that the league has never done before.
According to Sports Business Journal, one of the new ideas the NFL is considering for the 2022 schedule is holding two games on a Monday night.
While this is something the NFL has implemented in recent years on opening weekend, the twist here is that the two Monday night games would be kicking off about an hour apart and on two different channels, ESPN and ABC.
Granted, both networks are owned by Disney, but a move like this would literally mean that the NFL will be competing with itself for viewers on a night when it’s normally the only game in town.
Pro Football Talk says that while no date has been chosen yet for the unique Monday night doubleheader it is expected to be within the first four weeks of the season.
NFL eyeing changes to Thanksgiving weekend
The second change in the schedule that the NFL is mulling for 2022 involves Thanksgiving weekend.
With Amazon Prime Video now holding the rights to Thursdays, but not Thanksgiving (NBC still controls that spot), Amazon reportedly wants to air an NFL game on Black Friday.
Related: NFL Fans Absolutely Hate The New Amazon Prime Video ‘Thursday Night Football’ Logo
John Ourand of Sports Business Journal says his sources tell him that the NFL so far “has been lukewarm to this idea.”
A third item on the list of scheduling issues for the NFL in 2022 involves Christmas Day. That’s because this year Christmas Day falls on a Sunday.
“Even though Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, the NFL plans to move all of its Sunday afternoon games to Christmas Eve, a Saturday,” Ourand reports. “NBC will still have “Sunday Night Football” in prime time on Christmas night.
“Judging from the success of Christmas Day’s Browns-Packers game on Fox and NFL Network last season, both CBS and Fox have asked the NFL to allow them to carry one Christmas Day game this year in the late afternoon window. Considering that Browns-Packers was the ninth most-watched program in all of television in 2021, it’s likely that one of them will get that window.”
The NBA, which has typically dominated the sports scene on Christmas Day, can’t be thrilled to hear that.
Fans react to the potential scheduling changes
NFL fans, on the other hand, are all for games on Black Friday and Christmas Day.
Now THAT would be awesome. For those of us who don't go shopping that day.
— Ice Cream Lawyer (@eplawyer) February 21, 2022
Sign me up for football on Friday night. https://t.co/L9yt78lvBS
— Ishy 🇵🇸 (@Ishy__16) February 21, 2022
Everybody saying they hate this idea will also watch the game on black friday
— BroadcastAllBucks&BrewerGames (@ZachJHansen) February 21, 2022
It makes no sense to oppose this. They already have an added game on Thursday night. If you are a fan, you can only watch one game at a time, so if they are all on Sunday, you can't watch most of the games. So it's an opportunity to see more games.
— Matt Johnson (@mattjohnson906) February 21, 2022
If we're being honest with ourselves we would all watch the hell out of a Lions vs Jags Black Friday, Cyber Monday Afternoon, or a Random Ass Tuesday Morning game lol
— Bobby Horrall (@BobbyHorrall) February 21, 2022
As for the NFL having two games airing simultaneously on Monday night? It’s a mixed bag.
Two games on Monday night running against one another sounds like not the best idea but I'm sure it will work for the NFL
— WrongedSports (@SportsWronged) February 21, 2022
He’s not wrong.