The NFL’s annual league meeting concluded on Tuesday with a number of topics discussed.
Items on the agenda presumably ranged from the ongoing negotiations with referees, emergence of flag football and an 18-game regular season.
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Last week, ongoing labor talks between the NFL Referees Association and the league broke off with no progress madeCredit: Getty
But among the biggest fallout from the get together was the various scheduling changes that will be coming in 2026.
It’s unsurprising that this was discussed. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was left annoyed by the NBA’s mega broadcasting deal and was expected to try and re-negotiate multiple avenues.
Executives have made changes to the schedule that could potentially allow for standalone games to be broadcast on streaming platforms.
The first major alteration is that the league is looking to schedule a game for Thanksgiving Eve, which likely necessitates two teams coming off a bye for a Wednesday night matchup.
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“We are actively looking at that window,” NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder said.
“Thanksgiving is all about football, family and friends increasingly, and we think that we are a big part of that.
“You saw that last year with some of the numbers on [Thanksgiving Day] and really throughout with great numbers on Black Friday too.
“So we think this is a natural way we can continue to grow Thanksgiving.”
“We think it’ll be an exciting way, and exciting addition to the 2026 schedule.”
Executives have also made the decision to scrap the dual-Monday Night Football games on ABC and ESPN.
There were several instances of this occurring over the past few seasons, but amid the league’s deal to sell Disney’s control of NFL Network, they will now become a thing of the past.
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Schroder confirmed that the NFL is heading towards showing a game on Thanksgiving eveCredit: Getty
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Schroeder also confirmed that there will be no-more overlapping Monday Night Football gamesCredit: Getty
Schroeder admitted that Disney and the league miscalculated fans’ interest in having overlapping games taking place on a Monday night.
“One of the things we realized with Disney collectively… we thought adding two games on a Monday night would be a great thing for fans,” Schroeder added.
“It was more free football that was outside of a Sunday afternoon. I think we collectively struggled and realized fans felt like they were conflicted to choose between those games.
“And so, as we worked through that and part of that transaction related to the sale of NFL Network, one of the things that surfaced was there’s a better way for us to deploy those four games.”
This specific change is something that has been generally well received by fans.
“I’m still confused what the experiment was ever supposed to be? Like yeah, let’s have overlapping Monday night games? It’ll surely be well received,” one fan sarcastically commented.
“The NFL finally realized nobody asked for double chaos on Monday nights. Scrapping the split games and tossing them elsewhere… just feels like fixing a problem they created in the first place,” a second added.
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Fans are welcoming the news that there will no longer be dual Monday Night Football gamesCredit: Getty
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There will be three games on Christmas Day in 2026, two streamed on Netflix, and one televised on FOXCredit: Getty
“Finally!!!!!! The overlapping games made no sense!” a third said.
“Good, that was a terrible idea to begin with.” a fourth concluded.
Owners also approved a change to the scheduling rules, voting in favor of a proposal to exempt Friday games from being treated as short-week matchups.
Additionally, three games will be played on Christmas Day in 2026, given the fact that it falls on a Friday.
Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports reports that two of them will be streamed by Netflix, and the third will be televised by FOX.
The NFL’s schedule will look a lot different in 2026 with a number of welcome changes, and others that some fans don’t necessarily agree with.
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However, when football returns in early September, the schedule changes will quickly be forgotten as excitement for the new campaign ramps up.
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