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Thursday Night Football is set to undergo a major change for the upcoming seasons. The league wishes to have the ability to flex its games in and out of schedule. Commissioner Roger Goodell is the biggest proposition of the change and this could have massive implications for fans and players.
According to current league rules, a game can be flexed out of Sunday Night Football for another game set to be played on Sunday. Meanwhile, Thursday and Monday's games are not allowed to be flexed out of their day unless a major event happens.
But the league hopes to change this situation. The NFL requires 24 out of 32 owners to agree to allow Thursday games to be flexed to Sunday while a Sunday game goes on three days before. During the NFL owners' annual meeting in Phoenix, only 22 were in favor of the rule change.
Goodell stated at a news conference on Tuesday at the conclusion of the Annual League Meeting:
"Obviously, providing the best matchups for our fans is part of what we do. That’s part of what I think our scheduling has always focused on and flex has been a part of that. We are very judicious with it and we’re very careful with it, and we look at all of the impacts of it."
It's likely just a matter of time before Goodell gets two more owners to vote for the change to be allowed.
Thursday Night flex would be bad for the teams and the fans
There is a golden rule in NFL circles that will always prevail: money talks. No matter how much of a problem it could be for fans - and even for the team's preparations - if the league could change primetime games to improve ratings, it would.
Owner John Mara of the New York Giants is a rare member of the group that is opposing the idea. He said that it would be impossible for the fans to have a good time preparing to attend the game. But with 22 out of 32 owners voting for the idea, it's increasingly likely he's going to be a blank voice.
