Roger Goodell Opens the Door for ‘Thursday Night Football’ Flex Scheduling

The NFL has used the procedure to create favorable ‘Sunday Night Football’ matchups since 2006.

Once upon a time, Thursday Night Football was a relative afterthought for the NFL. Shown on NFL Network exclusively for years and often the domain of middling teams, it always took second fiddle to pro football's traditional Sunday and Monday windows.

That may be changing in the near future. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell hinted Wednesday afternoon that the advent of Monday Night Football flex scheduling in 2023 had the potential to open the door for Thursday Night Football flex scheduling.

“Not today," Goodell said of Thursday flex scheduling, "but it’ll certainly be something that’s on our horizon.”

The 2023 season will be the first year of flex scheduling for Monday Night Football, and Roger Goodell says it wouldn’t surprise him if at some point Thursday games can be flexed, too: “Not today, but it’ll certainly be something that’s on our horizon.”

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 8, 2023

Goodell made his comments during his annual pre-Super Bowl press conference.

The NFL has had flex scheduling in some form or fashion since 2006. The procedure allows for games to be shifted in and out of the league's Sunday Night Football window provided that teams and networks receive at least 12 days advance notice.

Thursday Night Football moved to Amazon Prime for the 2022 season, ending the bloc's 16-season run on NFL Network.