The NFL has made some tweaks to its rules regarding scheduling games for this season in an apparent attempt to boost ratings and give itself greater flexibility in terms of having big matchups that will garner big ratings.
One of those tweaks came on Monday when league owners approved a rule that will allow the league to flex Thursday night games.
Flexing for Thursday Night Football just passed, 24-8, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 22, 2023
Flexing is something the NFL seldom does in practice, but when it does happen, it can have bad consequences for fans.
One problem is what happens to fans who have purchased tickets to a game that has been rescheduled due to this rule.
It’s a big reason plenty of fans are unhappy about this rule change.
BOOOOOOOO
— THE OFF-SEASON (@TheDailyRaven) May 22, 2023
Thursday Night flex doesn’t sound like a great idea at all. Seems like a bad thing for players and fans.
— Caleb ∞ (@AktomicGaming) May 22, 2023
Will I get a refund if the game im going to is flexed?
— impatient jets fan (@DYlan67500007) May 22, 2023
Some fans feel that with this rule, the NFL is favoring fans who watch games on television rather than those who attend games.
Thursday Night games are bad all around.
First & foremost is player safety.
Secondly, NFL is turning half the games to PPV.— Dave (@angryvet59) May 22, 2023
Just can’t see how this doesn’t impact fans, fans buying tickets for games expecting them to be on Sunday could be problematic when the game is now played on a week day
— Facts on Facts (@factsonfactspod) May 22, 2023
Ratings for NFL games have reportedly gone up somewhat over the last couple of years.
But in 2023, there is no doubt that football is still America’s most popular sport, and if baseball is our national pastime, football is clearly still our national passion.
Flexing is a good option for sports leagues to have, as things can occasionally happen to render what looks like a marquee matchup to be much less appetizing, but appeasing television viewers and fans who attend games in person at the same time isn’t an easy thing to do.
