NBC will be joining CBS and NFL Network in the broadcasting of Thursday Night Football games in 2016.
Thursday Night Football will continue to expand as NBC will join CBS in broadcasting a certain amount of the Thursday night games in 2016.
Both NBC and CBS will broadcast five games each, while NFL Network will still feature a simulcast of each game. NFL Network will exclusively air the remaining games, including several on Saturday nights during the season.
Thursday Night Football has had its problems, including terrible matchups and players dealing with a short week, but this deal means the franchise will be around for many years to come.
The main problem with TNF is the short week that comes with the game. Players are missing out on valuable recovery time, while coaches must try to plan for a game in an shortened amount of time.
There is the argument that these are NFL players and coaches who should be able to adapt to the short week when they know it is ahead on the schedule, but football is different from any other major sport. Time is needed for recovery and for planning, or else the competition on the field with falter.
But money is what drives all professional sports, and as long as television networks continue to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to broadcast NFL games, these type of non-traditional midweek games will continue.
It will take some type of action from the NFLPA to make any sort of change, but that may be put on hold as long as the money is coming in at its current rate.