Giants’ John Mara calls possible Thursday Night Football flexing ‘abusive’
The NFL wants better matchups on Amazons Thursday Night Football, and one prominent owner is vehemently against the leagues proposed method for getting them.
Speaking at the annual league meeting in Phoenix on Tuesday, New York Giants co-owner John Mara called the possibility of flexing Sunday games to Thursday nights abusive.
Flexible scheduling, as it is, is really inconsiderate to our season ticket holders and to people who fill our stadiums every week, Mara said. People have gotten used to going from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night. That doesnt mean that they like it.
This year we can be flexed into Monday night, which I think is really inconsiderate to our ticket holders. But to flex a game back to Thursday night to me is abusive, and I am adamantly opposed to it.
The NFL announced more than a dozen approved playing rules, bylaws and resolutions for 2023 on Tuesday. The league made a proposal seeking the ability to move late-season games from a Sunday to a Thursday with 15 days notice, but it did not pass in what Mara called a close vote. Instead of being fully rejected, discussions on the topic have been tabled to May.
I understand that the ratings towards the end of the year on Amazon were down a little bit, but we probably had some bad matchups, he said. So lets pick better matchups.
NFL flex scheduling began in 2006 as a means for getting more marquee matchups on NBCs Sunday Night Football. Games could be moved from Sunday afternoon to Sunday primetime, and vice-versa, with 12 days notice. They could also be moved from 1 p.m. to either 4 p.m. or 4:25 p.m. ET, and vice-versa, on Sundays for CBS and FOX.
As of 2022, the league was allowed to use flex scheduling two times between Weeks 5-10 and anytime between Weeks 11-17.
The upcoming NFL season will be the first time the league can flex games in and out of ESPNs Monday Night Football. As Mara alluded to, it could create issues for fans who plan to attend a game on a specific date.
There are even more issues for fans with Thursday night flexing, but the greater concern falls on players. A Sunday-to-Thursday turnaround gives players just three days off between games, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell dismissed the premise that the short break leads to more on-field injuries and said some players appreciate the mini-bye that follows a Thursday matchup.
I dont think we are putting Amazon over players interests, Goodell said. Weve always been looking at the data with respect to injuries and the impact on players and I think we have data thats very clear it doesnt show a higher injury rate.
ProFootballTalks Mike Florio doesnt believe the leagues data tells the full story, though.
Its not enough to just look at how many injuries happen in the game, Mike Florio said Wednesday on PFT Live. What about the players who could have played on [Sunday] who arent able to play now on Thursday night? Theyre not in this analysis of injury rate. What do we know about the overall wear and tear? How much does it add when youre playing 17 games?
While Thursday night flex talks have been tabled until May, the league has already installed one change to mid-week games. Teams can now have two short-week games from a Sunday to a Thursday during the season, leaving behind the limit of one per team from past seasons. That news was immediately met with a reaction from the reigning NFL MVP.
The NFL is set to release its 2023 schedule in early May, but there could be plenty of changes to it once the season gets underway.
