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NFL games have traditionally been played on Sunday, with most of us degenerates finding the perfect reason to drink off the hangover we’re nursing from the night before by watching hard-hitting pro football. But with the entire year of 2020 being anything but traditional, could the league find itself moving games around to get a bigger audience and absolutely dominate the weekend during the fall and winter? According to a report from Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio, it could happen.
With the unfortunate (but predictable) move for some college football conferences reportedly bowing out of a season to protect players from spreading COVID-19, Florio’s reporting that NFL games could end up shifting from the usual Sunday to Saturday now — which, admittedly, would be pretty fucking awesome. Take a look at the report from the longtime (and well-connected) NFL writer, who referenced what he’s hearing from some of his sources.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL likely will move games from Sundays to Saturday, if college football doesn’t proceed this season. It’s unclear whether the games would be broadcast, streamed, or distributed on a pay-per-view basis, but the league likely would backfill the vacant Saturday windows with NFL content.
The easiest approach would be to treat each Saturday like the late-season tripleheader the league staged in 2019, with a game at 1:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 8:15 p.m. ET. That would trim the Sunday slate by three games each week.
So, wait, there’s a possibility that football fans could get a tripleheader of NFL games on Saturdays numerous times throughout the season? Where in the hell do we sign up for that? Take the debauchery that usually happens for college football on Saturdays and just apply that same energy towards the NFL. Best part? No hangover at work on Monday — and more football to watch on Sunday, with some NFL games still being played then, too.
As Florio points out, the biggest issue with all this comes down to one thing: Money.
Essentially, the league has a “broadcast antitrust exemption,” which, per Florio, “allows the NFL to sell TV rights in a league-wide bundle but prevents the NFL from televising games on Friday or Saturday from Labor Day through early December. That’s because, typically, college football games are broadcast on big-time networks, and those stations are smart to never try to compete by airing NFL games.
But 2020 is a whole different animal, and it means adapting on the fly. That could mean getting NFL on Saturdays, guys, and it’s something that would be hella dope if it were to happen. C’mon, Goodell, don’t fuck this golden opportunity up.