Flex alerts are coming to Thursday nights.
On Monday, a variety of NFL insiders reported that the league’s ownership had passed a flex rule for Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football, allowing bad games to be flexed out of the package and better games to be flexed in.
Flexing for Thursday Night Football just passed, 24-8, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 22, 2023
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero noted there is a high bar for the flex. Notably, it can only happen twice per season, only applies to Weeks 13-17, and must be announced 28 days in advance.
NFL owners approved a modified proposal for flexing Thursday Night Football games, I’m told.
Restrictions: It only applied to Weeks 13-17, maximum of two flexes per season, and 28 days notice required. It’ll be a high bar.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 22, 2023
Pelissero tweeted out the official resolution, which notes each team can only be flexed from Sunday to Thursday once, and that this is only in effect for the 2023 season (unless no games are flexed, which will roll it over to 2024).
Owners opposing Thursday night flex scheduling raised a variety of concerns, including travel logistics and impact on fans. The NFLPA also was opposed to it. But owners voted it through, opening the possibility Amazon’s TNF schedule could shift once or twice late in the season. pic.twitter.com/50Ed28VvNH
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 22, 2023
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the eight teams that voted against the resolution were the Giants, Jets, Packers, Bears, Raiders, Lions, Bengals, and Steelers. In April, Peter King reported that the vote was 22-8 in favor of flex scheduling for TNF, with the Panthers and Falcons abstaining.
Back in March, it was reported that the NFL’s ownership was considering flexing TNF games, which they eventually backed off on before moving forward again.
Based on the parameters outlined by Pelissero, here are the games for flexing this season.
- Week 13: Seahawks @ Cowboys (lol the Cowboys aren’t getting flexed out)
- Week 14: Patriots @ Steelers (ditto the Steelers)
- Week 15: Chargers @ Raiders
- Week 16: Saints @ Rams
- Week 17: Jets @ Browns
We’re really looking at those final three games as possible flex candidates, but I think we can also rule the Week 16 game out, given that the Sunday of that week is Christmas Eve.
While there is a lot of discontent about flexing TNF games, the NFL clearly seems to be looking at it as a last resort situation in the event of a truly awful game late in the year. And really, I think that’s the best purpose for possibly flexing TNF games. It’s not good for anyone to have a 3-9 vs 4-8 matchup in primetime late in the season, and while it would clearly be a inconvenience for fans in attendance, even those fans would probably understand if a game that wretched was moved.
