While ESPN’s Monday Night Football is a favorite among fans, the same can’t be said for players, particularly Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.
During a recent interview with DraftKings, Brown maintained that while the Monday night games are “cool,” he believes the league should do away with them. The Eagles are playing back-to-back Monday night affairs and will face off against the New York Giants on Christmas Day.
“It most definitely does, honestly,” Brown said when asked about the difference in preparation on a shorter week. “It’s a short week, and then right after the game, you know you only have a certain amount of time just to see your body recover. It speeds up the process, and that adds on wear and tear with practice and more stuff. It gets difficult. The Monday night games, I think they (the NFL) should take it out. I know it’s cool, you know everybody watching you on Monday night, but the turnaround after that is a lot [more] difficult, especially if you leave the game a little banged up.”
Brown is coming off a game on Monday in which he hauled in five receptions for 56 yards in a 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
AJ Brown x DraftKings Discord: Reignmakers Football Edition https://t.co/5Kp6nkz1Ca
— DraftKings Reignmakers (@DKReignmakers) December 20, 2023
Brown’s complaints seem reminiscent of those about Thursday Night Football in the past, but the league showed no sign of budging there and will have a game every day of the week this season except Tuesday or Wednesday. While we don’t want to give Rodger Goodell any ideas, his mind — and that of the owners — has likely forged that thought.
It’s noteworthy that Monday Night Football is not going away anytime soon. We can expect to see more doubleheaders in the future. While Brown made a valid point about player recovery and safety, MNF is a significant source of revenue for the NFL. It’s also another night during the week (from September to January) that the league can lay claim to.
It is notable, however, that a football player who has just played on Monday night and will be again the following Monday night would make these comments. They certainly raise an interesting point but will, unfortunately, fall on deaf ears, as most player-led complaints do.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.