Cowboys' Jerry Jones Defends New 'Thursday Night Football' Flex; Fans Getting Screwed?

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones toed the line in the arguments for and against Thursday Night Football's flexible scheduling plans.

If anyone can chime on the growing debate surrounding NFL football on Thursday nights, it's Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Jones' Cowboys are among the most popular Thursday combatants in NFL history as owners of one of the two Thanksgiving holiday slots alongside Detroit. But the Cowboys' eternal national allure, win or lose, makes them well-preferred by the NFL's broadcast partners, including the polarizing Thursday package that became a season-long phenomenon in 2012. 

Detractors against "TNF" have long discussed the dangers of the shortened preparation and recovery such games require, but the NFL has continued to inflate its prestige, especially with Amazon paying $1 billion annually to stream the pre-weekend contests on its Prime Video platform. The next attempt to do that was enacted this week, as the NFL announced that a majority of teams approved a plan to extend flexible scheduling proceedings to TNF games, at least the final five between Week 13 and 17 (which includes Dallas' Nov. 30 showdown against Seattle). Any adjustments to the TNF schedule would come no later than 28 days before kickoff.

On the Thursday night flex issue, #Cowboys owner Jerry Jones agrees that fan impact is an important issue — but also points out only 7% of NFL fans have ever been in a stadium. Like Fox getting a TV package in the 90s, important to make Amazon deal work as best it can.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 22, 2023

In comments obtained by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Jones tried to play both sides of the issue by sympathizing with fans wary about Sunday games suddenly becoming Thursday occasions ... while acknowledging that such a group is relatively small.

"Jones agrees that fan impact is an important issue," Pelissero reported. "But (he) also points out only 7 percent of NFL fans have ever been in a stadium. Like Fox getting a TV package in the 90s, (it's) important to make Amazon deal work as best it can."

To that point, many were surprised when Fox, then a fledgling network struggling to compete with CBS, NBC, and ABC, successfully bid for the NFL's package of NFC games in 1993. Those concerns have been long forgotten with Fox not only continuing to hold such games but establishing itself as a worthy companion to the so-called "Big Three" networks.

NFL owners voted 24-8 in favor of Thursday night flexing this week. Jones was among those in favor with Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Green Bay, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, and both New York teams vetoing. 

It's easy to see why the business sides of the conversation felt that flexible scheduling was necessary for Amazon's acquisition: of the 15 TNF games streamed in Amazon's debut, only four featured two playoff teams and two of those games occured in the first four weeks. Three of their final seven had no playoff representation whatsoever, leading to a decline in viewership. 

Dallas is often a popular pick to fill games that have been flexed out. National cameras could make additional appearances in Arlington this year as flexible scheduling, a practice that debut with NBC's takeover of the Sunday night package in 2006, has also been expanded to loom over ABC/ESPN's "Mondy Night Football" showings. The Cowboys are currently slated for seven showings in exclusive national windows, beginning with Sept. 10's opener against the New York Giants.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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