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Flex Scheduling for ‘Thursday Night Football’ Makes Total Sense

Also in Traina Thoughts: Eli mocks Peyton; streaming backlash; MLB player has unfortunate incident; and more.

Jimmy Traina

Flex Scheduling for ‘Thursday Night Football’ Makes Total Sense
Flex Scheduling for ‘Thursday Night Football’ Makes Total Sense /

1. From everything I’ve seen and heard, there is quite a backlash to NFL owners approving flex scheduling for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime.

The flex can happen in Week 13 to 17, the flex can be used only twice over that span and 28 days notice has to be given if/when the flex happens. This is also, as of now, just in place for the 2023 season.

One reason people have given for not liking flex on Thursdays is player safety. I’m not that intelligent, so I can’t figure out how player safety is affected here. Teams already play on Thursday nights, and there is a rule in place that teams may play on Thursdays only twice during the season. This doesn’t change with flex scheduling. 

I can’t figure out how having a month’s notice that a game is being moved from Sunday to Thursday will make things more dangerous for the players. There is also no scientific data that proves a team playing on Thursdays twice in a season instead of once will automatically lead to more injuries. 

The bigger reason that flex haters seem to be citing is ticket holders getting screwed. News flash: The NFL does not care one iota about ticket holders. Amazon is paying the NFL $1 billion to air Thursday Night Football next season. The NFL cares only about that and nothing else.

The NFL is a television sport. Well, television and streaming now. The NFL’s priority is to keep its broadcast partners happy first. That’s why ESPN/ABC will get four doubleheaders this season. That’s why there will be a game on Black Friday this season. That’s why we now get a full slate of games on Christmas Day.

The fans who go to games are irrelevant these days.  It’s all a numbers game. The league is going to cater more to the 10 million who watch Thursday Night Football than the 80,000 people who go to a Thursday Night Football game.

I’d also be willing to bet that many of the people speaking out against flex now, in the middle of May, will love it in December, when the NFL swaps out a dog for a good game.

2. The Sports Emmys were held in Manhattan on Monday night. I was there and will give a report on this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina, which comes out Thursday morning, so subscribe here. 

Peyton Manning won an Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst for his work on ESPN2's ManningCast. His cohost didn’t see all that impressed.

3. Sometimes I have to use this column to massage my own ego. I’ve been ranting and raving for about two years that this is the worst time ever to be a sports fan based on how much it will cost you to watch all the sports you like thanks to the streaming boost. I've also been particularly frustrated by the Yankees’ greed in this area.

So it’s been beautifully satisfying to see so many others finally wake up. 

4. Guardians outfielder Will Brennan hit a line drive directly into a bird near the shortstop area during Monday’s game.

Brennan addressed this situation after the game, and I can’t tell whether tagging PETA was genuine or taunting, but I would guess the organization would’ve preferred not to have been mentioned in that tweet.

5. One, I have so many questions for J.J. Watt regarding what he gets at Target. Two, this is a very cool story that he shared Monday night.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with NFL VP of broadcast planning Mike North on putting together the 2023 schedule.

Just some of the topics covered: Which game did networks want the most? What’s the philosophy behind ESPN having staggered doubleheaders instead of straight doubleheaders? Is it true the league doesn’t want to waste great matchups on days when it’s guaranteed to have a huge rating? Will the league consider a team to be a permanent fixture on Black Friday? Why does the NFL feature the Raiders in prime time so much?

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: On this date, May 23, in 1991, Seinfeld aired the “Chinese Restaurant” episode. Given how horrific society has become, George’s line after having a meltdown while trying to use a pay phone, “You know, we are living in a society, we’re supposed to act in a civilized way,” is more relevant than ever.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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