49ers Issues To Track at the NFL Spring Meeting

Don't sleep on this under-the-radar event.

Normally the NFL Spring Meeting is an afterthought, this year there’s a few items worth following. The meeting of NFL owners takes place in Minneapolis from Monday through Wednesday.

1. The NFL makes a decision on flex scheduling for Thursday night games.

While the league has allowed teams to appear twice on Thursdays, flex scheduling is still up in the air. This was tabled at the Annual Meeting in Arizona.

The NFL wants the ability to flex games from Sunday to Thursday in Weeks 14-17 starting next year. Commissioner Roger Goodell pushed it aggressively in Phoenix but was met with pushback from the owners.

The Thursday move to Amazon last year saw some serious hits for the league. Viewership averaged under 10 million, nearly a 50 percent decline from televised games in 2021.

The NFL knows that streaming is a critical part of their financial future and will do anything to make sure the Amazon games succeed. Owners know that Thursday games are disruptive to their teams, generate high injury risk, and so far, have led to bad product, the games have been less than memorable.

Could a contender be scheduled for two Thursday games and then flexed into a third or fourth? That’s all to be determined at the meeting.

All that’s known at this point is the league is pushing hard on this and a vocal group of owners are against it, led by John Mara of the New York Giants. Where a final vote of every team would fall, to be determined. NFL revenue vs. player health comes to a head on this, it’s all worth following in Minneapolis.

2. Three active quarterbacks.

The Competition Committee could not reach a consensus in Arizona. There is support for three active quarterbacks on game day to avoid what happened to the Niners in the NFC Championship Game. The problem is how do you do it?

Some want the active roster to expand to 54 players. Opponents say that was abused in the past by teams who then didn’t use the extra slot for a quarterback. There is also reportedly pushback from some owners who don’t want any expansion in the size of active rosters.

Two options emerged in Arizona. Add a 54th slot to the active roster that can only be filled with a third quarterback. Or behind door No. 2, allow for a third emergency quarterback to be active on game day who comes from the practice squad.

The practice squad option gets thorny. The quarterback would need to be protected from poaching by other clubs. How much that player would be paid - practice squad vs. active roster - would also have to be settled.

A change to three active quarterbacks on game day is expected. Where that third quarterback resides and how much he’s paid is very much up in the air.  

With the 49ers having three veteran quarterbacks, they may choose to carry three quarterbacks on the active roster regardless of the rule changes.  It all depends on what form the rule change takes.

3. Votes expected and not.

An owner vote approving the sale of the Washington Commanders will not be held at the Spring Meeting. Details need to be ironed out before a vote can go forward.

Owners will vote on granting Super Bowl LX to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. A yes vote and approval to give the Niners $120 million for stadium upgrades are both considered to be formalities. Most of the $120 million is expected to be spent on suite upgrades.

49er Faithful asking for shading to be installed to change their seats from Easy Bake Ovens to comfortable spots will be reminded of the importance to stay hydrated.

2026 will be a huge year for 49ers CEO Jed York and Levi’s Stadium, hosting the Super Bowl in February and soccer’s World Cup in June. Levi’s is just one of 11 venues in the U.S. that will host a World Cup game.