Why Is the NFL Playing on Tuesday?

Why is the NFL playing on Tuesday? According to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, it’s all about giving fans more football.

“We think it’s a great opportunity for us to showcase our sport on a day when there’s not a lot of sports competition out there,” Goodell said.

So there you have it. The NFL is playing on Tuesday because they want to give fans more football. And who can argue with that?

It’s a Long Story

The National Football League (NFL) is playing games on Tuesday for the first time in nearly 70 years. So, why the change?

The league has been forced to adapt its schedule due to a number of factors, including COVID-19, which has caused several postponements and reschedulings. The most significant factor, however, is television.

In recent years, the NFL has become increasingly reliant on broadcasting income. In 2019, broadcasting rights generated $8 billion in revenue for the league, accounting for 43% of its total income. The NFL’s broadcast deals with Fox, ESPN, and CBS are all set to expire after the 2022 season, and the league is hoping to capitalize on a new wave of cord-cutting viewers by selling its streaming rights for even more money.

In order to maximize its broadcast income, the NFL needs as many eyeballs on its product as possible. Playing games on Tuesday nights helps achieve that goal by giving viewers more options and increasing the likelihood that people will watch.

The NFL isn’t the only one benefitting from this; television networks are also seeing a ratings bump. ESPN’s Tuesday night broadcasts have been some of the most-watched programs on cable television this fall.

So while it may be unusual to see the NFL playing on a Tuesday night, it’s ultimately all about money.

The NFL’s Original Schedule

The NFL’s original schedule had all games played on Sundays. This was due to the fact that most professional football players had jobs during the week and could not play on weekdays. Furthermore, many college football players were still in school on weekdays and unavailable to play in the NFL. The first game played on a weekday was a Thanksgiving Day game in 1934, when the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears.

The NFL began experimenting with weekday games in 1948, when they introduced two Thursday night games. These games were not well-attended, so the experiment was quickly dropped. In 1950, the NFL again experimented with weekday games, this time with four Tuesday night games. These games were also not well-attended, so the experiment was once again dropped.

In 1951, the NFL tried something different: they scheduled one Monday night game and one Thursday night game. The Monday night game was a resounding success, so the Thursday night game was quickly dropped. The 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants was also played on a Monday night, and it too was a success. As a result of these successes, the NFL began to schedule more and more Monday night games.

Weekday games became even more common in 1966, when the NFL introduced a second weekly Monday night game. In 1970, the NFL added a weekly Sunday night game to its television schedule. And in 1971, the league added a fourth weekly game to its television schedule: a Saturday afternoon game that would be shown on tape delay in primetime.

The Rescheduling Process

The NFL has a unique process for rescheduling games that helps ensure as many people as possible can watch the game. The process starts with the NFL’s broadcast partners, who submit requests to the NFL for games they would like to air on their network. The NFL then looks at the schedule and tries to accommodate those requests.

Once the broadcast partner request has been made, the NFL then looks at its own schedule to see what other games could be moved to accommodate the request. The league also considers things like bye weeks and potential weather concerns when making its decision.

The NFL then works with both teams involved in the game to see if they are able to make the switch. If both teams are able to make the switch, then the game is officially rescheduled and an announcement is made.

Why the NFL Chose Tuesday

The NFL chose Tuesday as their day to play for a variety of reasons. The main reason is that it is a day when most people are not working, so they can have a larger audience. Another reason is that it is a slow sports day, so they will get more attention. Finally, they may get better ratings because people are more likely to be home on a Tuesday night than on a Monday night.

What’s Next for the NFL?

The NFL has announced that they will be playing on Tuesday, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that the regular season will be moved to a later date, and the playoffs will be extended.

This decision was made in order to allow more time for teams to recover from the virus, as well as giving them time to reschedule any games that may have been postponed.

It is unclear at this time how long the NFL season will be extended, but it is possible that it could go into February 2021.