With the College Football Playoff expanding from four teams to 12 — and thus, three games to 11 — some conflicts with the NFL were inevitable.
But according to Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer, the league did its best to avoid providing head-to-head competition, although it wasn’t able to do so completely.
Earlier this week, the NFL released its complete 2024 schedule, which includes two games being played on Saturday, Dec. 21. That happens to be the same day the College Football Playoff is scheduled to play three of its campus site first-round games.
The NFL’s Dec. 21 schedule includes a 1 p.m. ET kickoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans and a 4:30 p.m. ET game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. According to Breer, the league considered airing a third game in primetime — as has been customary when the NFL has played games on Saturdays in late-December — but opted not to do so in “deference” to the College Football Playoff.
“My understanding is the NFL was in contact with college football powerbrokers on conflicts between its schedule and the CFP,” Breer wrote. “The reason they put two games, and not three, and left the primetime window open on Dec. 21 was in deference to college football.”
As for why the NFL didn’t just opt to avoid the date altogether, Breer noted that the league’s decision to play games on Christmas Day — which falls on a Wednesday this year — necessitated it play games on the previous Saturday. The four teams playing on Dec. 21 are the four teams that will also be featured on Christmas Day, when the Steelers will host the Chiefs and the Texans will host the Ravens.
Breer also stated that the College Football Playoff could look at a staggered start of its games — such as 5:30 p.m. ET and 8:30 p.m. ET — in order to minimize its direct competition with the NFL.
The NFL usually schedules games that Saturday, and had to this year if they wanted to put games on Christmas. As it is, there’ll be 11 CFP games, with only 2 NFL conflicts.
Also, the CFP could look at staggered starts (maybe one at 5:30 ET, another at 8:30 ET) that day.
(2/2)
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 16, 2024
As the CFP has expanded its schedule, it’s been interesting to see the NFL’s response. While the two entities have typically done their best to avoid each other — such as most bowl games not being played on Jan. 1 when it falls on a Sunday and the NFL not airing Saturday games until after college football’s regular season — the expanded CFB slate has made such conflicts unavoidable.
As such, some figured that the CFP airing some of the sport’s biggest games against the NFL might open the floodgates for more head-to-head competition. Instead, it appears the two entities are still working together in an effort to maximize what’s best for the sport, and more importantly (to them, anyways), their respective ratings.
