The NFL has offered a surprising response to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s public complaints about the team’s 2025 schedule.
Burrow publicly vented his frustration with some aspects of the Bengals’ schedule last week. He was disappointed that the Bengals did not get an international game, but was particularly frustrated that the team’s divisional road game against the Baltimore Ravens is in primetime for the fourth consecutive year.
Joe Burrow says it’s not ideal the NFL gave them a primetime game in Baltimore for a fourth straight year.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 20, 2025
Burrow also wants an international game. He says he’s worked hard to grow the NFL internationally and is disappointed they haven’t had one yet.pic.twitter.com/Y0GjNGai72 https://t.co/4bzp0B3rXt
In response, NFL scheduling VP Mike North admitted that Burrow’s complaints are justified.
“It’s fair. It’s not a one-or-two years sort of a league where you fix every problem every other year or every two years,” North told Geoff Hobson of the Bengals’ official website. “Once you start getting to the same thing three years in a row, four, or five years in a row, whether it’s a short week Thursday on the road or opening on the road. When trends like that emerge, we probably have to adjust at some point.
“It just ended up as we got down the stretch here, that this was our best schedule, and fully acknowledging that, I’m sure the Bengals fans are a little surprised and probably a little disappointed.”
North did note that the Bengals are getting a game on Thanksgiving out of the deal, and dropped a pretty big hint that the complaint will be addressed in years to come.
Burrow spends ample time thinking about the schedule, and his complaints were quite detailed. The fact that the league’s head of scheduling is essentially admitting he has a point is proof of that.
