The NFL season is nearing its end, which means we’re at that time of year that has football fans giddier than a six-year-old on Christmas morning. There are NFL games on both Saturday and Sunday now!
Even wilder is the sheer amount of Saturday games. This is the first time in 35 years that the NFL has scheduled games on four different Saturdays.
However, this vast amount of Saturday games has people asking questions like ‘Why are there so many? Why aren’t there more games on Friday?’ Thankfully, I am here to answer that question. It doesn’t seem to make sense given that the NFL had a game on Friday just a few weeks ago. Why not just keep games on Friday? Why not just have games on both Friday and Saturday? Well, there are actually reasons why that’s not the case. Let me explain.
Why are there no NFL games on most Saturdays?
It is actually illegal for the NFL to have games on both Fridays and Saturdays during a given week due to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. The act states that the NFL may not broadcast a game within 75 miles of a high school football or college football game taking place at the same time. Since the entire country is pretty much within 75 miles of a high school or college, this essentially prevents the NFL from broadcasting on Fridays or Saturdays from the second Friday of September to the second Saturday of December. This weekend will be the month’s third Saturday.
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The reason this law was put in place was to protect attendance at high school and college football games. If there was competition with the NFL, both high school and college football would likely lose a lot of revenue to fans who’d rather watch the highest level of football when possible.
Why are there games on Saturday this weekend?
The biggest reason is the absence of college football. The CFB season is over, and while bowl games are still a factor, there aren’t nearly as many college football games happening on Saturdays anymore. This weekend, there are just six such games and none of which include any ranked teams. There are sure to be some great moments throughout, but the same people who tuned in to watch powerhouses like Michigan, Georgia, and Washington aren’t going to tune in as often when the biggest game of the weekend is UCLA vs. Boise State.
The NFL obviously wants to capitalize on fans still looking to watch high-end football on Saturdays though. So, they throw a few games on Saturday in order to get some more ad revenue.
Why are there no NFL games on Friday?
Because people work on Fridays. Sure, the NFL could have games later in the day, but what would be the point of putting multiple games on the same time slot when they would already be competing with high school football on Friday nights? That would just make each game compete with each other. The NFL is smarter than that.
Yeah, they had a Friday game earlier this year, but that was because it was on Black Friday, a day that most people have off from work. Also, with many people opting to find deals online rather than in physical stores nowadays, the NFL believed it profitable to broadcast on a Friday where most people would likely be inside and online.
How to watch Saturday’s slate of games
Minnesota Vikings @ Cincinnati Bengals
When: Saturday, Dec. 16Where: Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OHTime: 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PTTV: NFL NetworkStream: NFL+, FuboTV
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Indianapolis Colts
When: Saturday, Dec. 16Where: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, INTime: 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PTTV: NFL NetworkStream: NFL+, FuboTV
Denver Broncos @ Detroit Lions
When: Saturday, Dec. 16Where: Ford Field in Detroit, MITime: 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PTTV: NFL NetworkStream: NFL+, FuboTV