The owners of the NFL teams have agreed to a new rule that makes it even easier to reschedule Thursday NFL games at short notice.

New year, new rule in the NFL. Although it’s a minor one.

Starting next season, the NFL will be able to reschedule Thursday night games up to 21 days in advance. Previously, the number of days was 28.

NFL: Change for Thursday Night Football

The league can now reschedule a Sunday game to Thursday and vice versa in weeks 13 to 17 – with the corresponding lead time of “only” 21 days.

The team owners agreed to this.

However, with limitations: no team will have to switch to a Thursday night game more than once. In addition, the number of Thursday night games is limited to a maximum of two per franchise.

This flex option can be used no more than twice during the season.

“Certainly there are some people who are still not the biggest fans of it,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution. “But an overwhelming number of members have embraced it. We’re thrilled to have it. We think it’s a win for our fans and for Amazon.”

NFLPA criticizes NFL plans

Since 2023, a game has only been moved up from Sunday to Thursday once. Last season in Week 16, when the Broncos and Chargers already had to play on Thursday, while the Bengals and Browns game was moved to Sunday.

Last season, the players’ union NFLPA criticized these plans, saying they were bad for players and fans, who had to plan their trips to NFL games carefully.