Report: NFL may add flex scheduling to next Monday Night Football contract

Teams have also shown concerns about the logistics of moving games from Sunday to Monday, both for the home team having its venue available both days, and for the road team needing to have hotels available for an extra night. Working out those issues won’t be easy, but if Disney or another media conglomerate bidding on Monday Night Football is willing to pay the NFL enough money, those issues will get worked out.

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Report: NFL may add flex scheduling to next Monday Night Football contract

What I don't like about this is that good teams already have an exorbitant number of night games on their schedule. The potential of adding another feels exhausting to both the teams, and the fans watching.

It’ll be nice to find a way to make MNF even crappier.

I'm good with just the (1) MNF game. I don't need another one.

denverpatsfan said:

I'm good with just the (1) MNF game. I don't need another one.

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I don't think anyone is suggesting an additional one.

Sounds like a season ticket holder nightmare...anyone north of Boston (and probably points south, too) that wants to get to Gillette and tailgate for a Monday night game almost assuredly has to get out of work early, take a half day, etc. and trek down to the stadium to get there on time. Most guys get the schedule when it comes out and take days off/personal time, etc., as needed for those Thursday or Monday home kickoffs.
This is very disrespectful to season ticket holders...or anyone with an ticket in advance who planned around going down to Foxboro to tailgate for a game...
I work till 4 and if our tailgate crew didn't get out early on those Monday/Thursday home games (back when I had tix) we'd be sitting in tons of traffic and we headed down from only about 15 minutes north of Gillette...greedy, greedy nfl....

They need to get a new MNF crew is what they need to do.

Yeah it’s one thing to move the game to a different time on the same day, but becomes a nightmare for teams and fans alike if you move it to a different day. This sounds like a disaster, which means the NFL will probably approve it

203Pat said:

They need to get a new MNF crew is what they need to do.

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"Hey, no one is watching our MNF broadcast with Jack Monotone, Goofus McFormerPlayer, and Frizzy Von RandomThird!"

"Throw money at the NFL so they give us better matchups!"

I like it...anything to bring better match ups on MNF is a good thing.

Usually, it is the biggest fantasy game for me weekly....so more marquee teams...the better....

And it wouldn't be much of a logistical nightmare if they FLEX it out 2 weeks in advance like they do for SNF.

Anyone travelling to a Sunday/Monday night game should take the day off on Monday anyway to travel back...or take the red eye Mon night and be back at work on Tuesday.

In the original article the only mention about the effect on fans comes as an afterthought in the final two paragraphs. 345 Park Avenue will get their unscrupulous PR specialists to put a shiny spin on the subject about how this is solely about making pro football better for their fans.

More flex scheduling could be on the way

The idea that ABC is going to go back to their 1970 MNF glory days is ridiculous. Obviously Disney craves what NBC has on Sunday night, but paying even more money in exchange for flex scheduling is just throwing more good money after bad.

The NFL will never be satisfied with how much money they make. At some point that greed will lead to their demise.

I’m okay with it if it’s only limited to extreme circumstances.

Only allow it a few times per year. MNF games are much trickier to flex than SNF games.

Elijah said:

I don't think anyone is suggesting an additional one.

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Im actually ok with the early/late MNF format. The 830 9pm kick offs are ridiculously too late. Those should be west coast games. 6pm kick off for east coast games.

I was complaining about the Pats potentially having 2 MNF games if they decided to flex them in. Not a fan. Just 1 is plenty.

In addition to moving the Sunday game to Monday, you're also moving the original MNF game back to Sunday, which means that two sets of fans and stadiums will have to change their plans, some of which were made months in advance, on short notice.

The reason that MNF games suck so much is the schedule at the outset. Most seasons you can look at the slate and see right away that at least six Monday games will be garbage, usually divisional matchups where both teams were bad the previous year and would need to take serious leaps to make the game be relevant. Compare that to the Sunday night games, most of which you can tell right away will be between two really good teams with a lot of star power.

I think this is much more doable if there’s one or two alternatives to the last 6 or so Monday night games and a two to three weeks heads up.

Forcing every venue to be available Monday and Sunday night probably isn’t happening but if you only pick one to two alternatives a week, this might work. Limit the amount of times a host team can be an alternative matchup.

TB_Helmet said:

In addition to moving the Sunday game to Monday, you're also moving the original MNF game back to Sunday, which means that two sets of fans and stadiums will have to change their plans, some of which were made months in advance, on short notice.

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Well said, I make a trip every year from Canada (eh?) to see a game and let's say tickets are bought for a sunday game and it's gets flexed to monday, that would cause the whole trip to be modified...

Another stupid proposal of the NFL to try to attract more dollars, I really hate late games.. particularly exciting ones that often lead to sleeplessness and tired next days..

1 Thursday nite and 1 Monday nite games are 2 too many.. not much good happens after 9:00 PM....

I don’t mind these games because I live in the pacific time zone. Those games are brutal in the East. I recall taking the rail from Foxboro to south station then waiting an hour for a special red line to get me to my car in Cambridge. Then the drive home. I didn’t get to sleep until 3:30 am and had work the next morning.

denverpatsfan said:

I'm good with just the (1) MNF game. I don't need another one.

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And we have to, (1) Thursday Night as well.