The NFL is about to play a doubleheader on Christmas Day, the league introduced Tuesday.
Christmas Day, 2024, falls on a Wednesday and would be the first NFL sport performed on a Wednesday since 2020, when COVID-19 pressured the league to carry a matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens midweek.
The NFL has proven an elevated dedication to taking part in video games on Christmas Day. Since 2020, the NFL has performed 9 video games on Christmas. Earlier than then, the league held 21 whole video games on the vacation.
However in addition to rescheduling the Ravens-Steelers matchup in 2020, the league has solely performed just one sport on a Wednesday since 1948. In 2012, the NFL rescheduled the season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants to a Wednesday to keep away from working in opposition to then-President Barack Obama’s scheduled speech on the Democratic Nationwide Conference.
NFL government vp for media distribution Hans Schroeder mentioned final yr that the league will not be “seeking to play soccer on a Tuesday or Wednesday at this level.” He continued: “Particularly this late within the yr as we get near the postseason. We need to concentrate on the run to the playoffs and for that aggressive fairness to essentially shine by. I don’t suppose we’re going to take a look at Tuesday or Wednesday soccer. We’re trying on the days the place we’re already taking part in soccer and have the chance to have fun one thing bigger on a vacation with lots of our followers collectively.”
The groups scheduled to play this season’s Christmas Day video games will play the earlier Saturday to permit for a four-day restoration window.
The NFL made a number of different adjustments Tuesday, as membership house owners authorized important adjustments to kickoff guidelines and moved the commerce deadline to Week 9.
The NFL additionally introduced that Peacock will stream the Week 1 sport in São Paulo, Brazil and Amazon’s Prime Video, which simply accomplished its first season streaming Thursday Night time Soccer, will air an NFL Wild Card sport this season.
The Philadelphia Eagles have already been introduced as one of many groups taking part in within the first-ever sport performed in South America.
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(Picture: Scott Galvin / USA At the moment)