Among the most contentious of the proposed rule changes for the 2023 NFL season involve Thursday Night Football games.
There are two potential changes.
One is that TNF games can be flexed within a 15-day window before the scheduled game.
The other is that NFL teams can play two TNF games per season.
The flex scheduling proposal was tabled until May, but the two TNF games per season change was approved.
The Thursday Night Football flex scheduling proposal was tabled until May, per NFL EVP/Chief Media and Business Officer Brian Rolapp.
However, owners did approve a change that will allow a team to play two TNF games in a season.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 28, 2023
Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney II has strong opinions on both proposed rules.
What Rooney Said About Flexing TNF Games
Rooney was a noteworthy holdout to the proposal of flexing TNF games.
22 owners were in favor of it, but 24 votes are needed for the rule to pass.
It is believed that Commissioner Goodell will work to get the 2 votes between now and May to have the flex plan pass.
My understanding is the vote count in the room (no official vote was taken) for the tabled TNF flex proposal was as follows …
• 22 owners for it.
• 8 owners against it.
• 2 owners abstaining.We’ll see if Roger Goodell, who was pushing for it, can get to 24 votes in May.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 29, 2023
Rooney does not sound like his mind will be changed.
“The biggest problem I had with the flex was that the proposal was you only had 15 days notice. That’s just too short of a turnaround time for a Sunday to a Thursday as far as I’m concerned.”
What Rooney Said About 2 TNF Games
Rooney emphasized that scheduling is the key to making 2 TNF games work for an NFL team.
Regarding the two TNF games, Rooney said:
“For instance, you can give them [teams] back-to-back Thursdays, things like that and have a bye on the end of that, I think it can be done so that teams will be able to live with it.”
Patrick Mahomes Does Not Like It
Patrick Mahomes used the smacking head emoji on Twitter to express his thoughts on both proposed changes to TNF.
🤦🏽♂️ https://t.co/7kIyOGpOvV
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) March 28, 2023
Mahomes is most likely not the only player who feels this way.
What About Season Ticket Holders?
Fans watching on television may not mind these proposed rule changes, but season ticket holders might.
New York Giants President John Mara thinks the flex plan does a disservice to season ticket holders.
He is “adamantly opposed” to it.
Giants’ John Mara is “adamantly opposed” to TNF flex scheduling proposal pic.twitter.com/JIUoo5kTec
— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) March 29, 2023
Flexing games within a short 15-day timeframe adds inconvenience for fans planning to go to a Sunday game that turns into a Thursday game.
It is unclear how the NFL will work through all of the issues and dissenting opinions regarding TNF scheduling.
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