The NFL’s first Black Friday game takes place this year, with the New York Jets hosting the Miami Dolphins on Prime Video.
However, that wasn’t the only game considered by the league. Per NFL VP of Broadcasting and Scheduling Mike North, several other teams and games were considered.
One of the teams that wanted to play on Black Friday was the Cincinnati Bengals, who proposed an annual Black Friday game in Cincinnati as a new tradition to go along with the annual Thanksgiving games in Detroit and Dallas.
"Not just in 2023, how about as a tradition? We play in Dallas and Detroit on Thanksgiving every year, how about playing in Cincinnati on Black Friday every year?
Mike North tells @AdamSchein the #Bengals volunteered to play on Black Friday on @NFLonPrime annually.
LISTEN ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EBSMC6YlmR
— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) May 12, 2023
“The Cincinnati Bengals, for instance, raised their hand. They put their hand up,” North said on Mad Dog Sports Radio’s Schein On Sports Friday. “They said, ‘you know what? We’re interested in Black Friday, and not just in 2023. How about, as a tradition, you know we play in Dallas and Detroit on Thanksgiving every year, how about playing in Cincinnati on Black Friday every year?’
“So we looked at a Steelers-Bengals game for Black Friday.”
North also mentioned that the league considered a Raiders game (“Black Friday in the Black Hole”) and Eagles-Giants before going with Dolphins-Jets.
The Bengals will still host the Steelers on Sunday, November 26th, while the Giants host the Patriots, the Eagles host the Bills, and the Raiders host the Chiefs.
All traditions come from somewhere, but trying to start a tradition from scratch because a team volunteered seems a bit dubious to me. I don’t mind a game on Black Friday, and I also don’t really mind the idea of moving it around (like the third Thanksgiving game) instead of making it stick in one location for the hell of it.
