Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was among the NFL players critical of the league’s “Thursday Night Football” decision, and commissioner Roger Goodell is trying to respond to that narrative.
Mahomes reacted critically to news that teams can now play two Thursday night games per season, up from one previously. That change was unpopular with some players due to the extremely short week and brief recovery time that comes with playing on Thursday.
Goodell tried to combat the narrative that the league was “putting Amazon over our players,” as he put it, by arguing that there is no evidence of increased injury rate and claiming that some players have told him they enjoy the long break that comes with being featured on a Thursday night game.
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“I don’t think we’re putting Amazon over our players,” Goodell said. “The data doesn’t show higher injury rate. … I hear from players who also love the 10 days after a Thursday Night game. We have to try to balance all of it.”
Goodell’s defense is likely to fall on deaf ears. It is impossible to argue that money is not a deciding factor in making the change. Thursday night games have a reputation for being fairly low-quality by the NFL’s standards, so the hope is clearly that having the option to put better teams on twice a season might help change that perception.
The league is seeking to change another big thing about “Thursday Night Football,” but that change has also been met with strong resistance thus far.
