NFL reportedly set to add a Thanksgiving eve game, adding to a packed sports schedule
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I don’t want to offend anyone, but are we sure there is no such thing? too much football?
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the NFL is “considering” adding a game to its annual schedule the night before Thanksgiving, possibly starting with the 2026 season. Of course, the NFL doesn’t do much “considering” these days. The league does this.
And considering the NFL has (presumably) bought an extra four games to a broadcaster, it’s safe to expect a game on Thanksgiving Eve as soon as this season.
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Green Bay Packers No. 1 pick Micah Parsons takes a bite of a turkey leg after the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on November 27, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
As for the league’s motivation, Netflix is currently paying the NFL $75 million per game for its Christmas Day doubleheaders. Privately streaming a game the night before Thanksgiving could cost a similar amount.
With a market value approaching $4 trillion, YouTube’s parent company Alphabet is in a position to outpace its potential rivals. YouTube vice president of subscriptions Christian Oestlien also recently expressed interest in adding more NFL games to the platform.
“We want YouTube to be a core part of media distribution,” Oestlien told The Athletic.
As background, the expectation is that the Wednesday night game will be broadcast in addition to the rest of the Thanksgiving and Black Friday schedules.
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Here’s a look at a potential 10-day stretch of football this November:
- Saturday: All college football
- Sunday: Complete NFL slate
- Monday: Monday Night Football
- Tuesday: MACtion Wednesday: NFL game
- Thanksgiving: NFL games
- Black Friday: NFL game
- Saturday: college football rivalry week
- Sunday: Complete NFL slate
- Monday: Monday Night Football
That’s a lot of football, even if you don’t count college football games. This also follows a familiar pattern of further diluting the NFL product, whose popularity was once tied to its scarcity.
Thanksgiving football is a tradition, but if there’s already a game the night before, waking up that morning to watch the first games of the new week is less exciting. Similarly, NFL RedZone has gained cultural appeal as a way to follow a series of interesting matchups simultaneously on Sundays. But by the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, 10 teams will have already played.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) celebrates by eating turkey after the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at AT&T Stadium on November 27, 2025. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)
Additionally, there would still be three nationally televised games left on Sunday afternoon (which is national for most of the country), between Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football.
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And there are not enough good and interesting teams to spread the national program so widely.
Last year, only one of the teams playing on Thanksgiving made the playoffs: the Packers. The other five did not: Chiefs, Cowboys, Bengals, Ravens and Lions.
The much-touted Christmas Day list was worse. Cowboys vs. Commanders already included two teams that were eliminated at the end of the season. Chiefs vs. The Broncos featured a Kansas City team that was without Patrick Mahomes and had already been eliminated from the playoffs. Lions vs. The Vikings were one of two non-playoff teams in a 10-for-23 game with Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer.
“But Bobby, if you don’t like it, don’t watch it. Go watch a true crime documentary,” one user X is about to demand.
Look, maybe I will. But most of you won’t do that. And no one is arguing that Americans won’t watch extra games on television.
At some point, though, the proliferation of poorly played games on national television and the dearth of exciting matchups on Sunday will push viewers to a day, wait, skip a game or two.
The league is not as invincible as it seems.
Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers takes a bite of a turkey leg after the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on November 27, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
It wasn’t the win the league praised last season. The NFL claims a 10 percent annual viewership increase since viewing began in 1988; This marks the second highest average viewership since viewing began in 1988. But this is not entirely true.
The television industry believes predictions for live sporting events have increased since Nielsen changed its viewing methodology to Big Data + Panel last August roughly 8%. In other words, there was no real double-digit increase in the 2025 regular season.
Applying the same logic, the drop in the Super Bowl was probably closer to 7 to 10%. more than 2%.
These are not dramatic collapses. But the idea that the NFL continues to gain popularity year after year regardless of scheduling decisions is misleading.
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Call me any name you want. In Europe we don’t need football matches on Wednesdays and Fridays, early Sunday mornings and possibly Tuesdays.
We also don’t need six to seven different services/channels to watch games, as the proliferation of Thanksgiving week football requires.
