Why Is There an NFL Game on Saturday?

Why Is There an NFL Game on Saturday?
The NFL has a long history of playing games on Saturday.

The NFL’s History with Saturday Games

The NFL’s history with playing games on Saturday dates back to the early 1920s, when the league was known as the American Professional Football Association (APFA). At that time, the APFA played most of its games on Sundays, with a few Saturday contests mixed in.

The first official NFL game played on Saturday occurred on December 3, 1921, when the Hammond Professionals defeated the Chicago Cardinals 7-6. The game was not televised, and it was not until nine years later that the first Saturday NFL telecast took place. That game – a contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles – was aired by NBC on October 10, 1931.

The NFL began televising a regular slate of Saturday games in 1953. The games were broadcast by NBC during the 1953 and 1954 seasons before moving to ABC in 1955. ABC held onto the Saturday rights for nearly three decades before ESPN took over in 1987.

Since then, ESPN has televised games on both Saturdays and Sundays during the NFL season. In recent years, Fox has also gotten in on the action, televising a handful of late-season Saturday games.

Why the NFL Decided to Play Games on Saturday

The NFL has been playing games on Saturday for decades, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, the league didn’t start playing regular season games on Saturday until 1933.

The reason for the change was simple: The NFL wanted to increase its visibility and attract more fans. Playing games on Saturday made sense because it was the one day of the week when most people didn’t have to work.

The NFL’s decision to play games on Saturday has paid off. Today, the league is more popular than ever, and games on Saturday are often some of the most highly-anticipated of the season.

How Saturday Games Impact the NFL’s Schedule

The NFL typically releases its regular season schedule in April, and the 2021 NFL Draft is being held from April 29-May 1. Because the 2021 NFL regular season is currently scheduled to begin on Thursday, September 2 (Labor Day weekend), the league needs to release its schedule before the draft so that teams can start making preparations for the upcoming season.

The NFL has not yet released its schedule for the 2021 season, but it is expected to be released sometime in mid-to-late April. In the meantime, here’s a look at how Saturday games impact the NFL’s schedule.

The NFL typically plays its games on Sundays, but occasionally there are games on Thursdays ( Thanksgiving Day ) and Mondays (typically one game on Labor Day). The league also occasionally schedules games on Saturdays during Week 16 of the regular season (the week between Christmas and New Years Eve).

The Saturday games are usually “cross-flexed,” meaning they are moved from their originally scheduled time slot to a different time slot on CBS or FOX. The cross-flexed game usually takes the place of another game that was scheduled to be played at that time slot.

For example, let’s say that the originally scheduled game in Week 16 between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings was supposed to be played at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX. But then, let’s say that the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles gets cross-flexed to that time slot on FOX. In that case, the Packers-Vikings game would then be moved to 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC (which would normally be occupied by Sunday Night Football).

The reason why there are sometimes Saturday games during Week 16 is because the NFL wants to ensure that all of its divisional rivalries are being played during prime time slots during that final week of the regular season. By cross-flexing games into different time slots, it allows for more divisional rivalry games to be played in those late afternoon and evening time slots when more people are able to watch them.

What Fans Can Expect from the NFL’s Saturday Games

The NFL’s decision to move some of its games to Saturday during the 2016 season has been met with mixed reactions from fans. Some are thrilled to have football on what is typically a college football day, while others are worried that theNFL is encroaching on their favorite sport’s territory.

So why is the NFL playing games on Saturday? There are a few reasons.

First, it gives the NFL a chance to showcase its product on a day when there is no competition from other professional sports leagues. With basketball and hockey wrapping up their seasons in the spring and baseball just getting underway, there are no other major sports competing for fans’ attention in the fall.

Second, it gives the NFL a chance to reach a different group of fans. College football fans who might not be as interested in the NFL can be exposed to the professional game on Saturday and perhaps become new fans of the sport.

Finally, it provides an opportunity for more people to watch NFL games. Saturday is typically a day when people have more free time than during the week, so they can spend more time watching football. And with games being played in primetime on both coasts, even more people will have a chance to tune in.

So while there may be some concerns about the NFL encroaching on college football’s territory, there are also some positives to having games played on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how thiNFS experiment turns out.