The NFL yesterday "dismissed speculation that it is considering reducing its commitment to Thursday Night Football in the wake of disappointing ratings this season," according to Joe Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The league in a statement said, "We are fully committed to Thursday Night Football and any reports to the contrary are unfounded.” Flint notes the NFL was responding to a Pro Football Talk story that "suggested there were discussions to cut the package" after the '17 season, which is when current deals with CBS and NBC are set to expire. NFL Network is "obligated by contracts with its cable and satellite partners to carry at least eight games a season." Sources said that the league has not "approached either NBC or CBS to discuss the future of Thursday games" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/29). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote it is "not a shock that the league would deny the notion that Thursday Night Football could subside or disappear." Anything other than an "unequivocal rejection would serve only to create momentum that could back the league into a corner" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 11/28).
SAYING BYE, BYE? ESPN's Herm Edwards said the current version of "TNF" represents "too much football." He said, "I would do it Thursday after Thanksgiving Day and then go from there.” ESPN’s Mike Greenberg: “There is an easy solution to this problem if you want to keep Thursday nights, and that is go back to -- I believe there was one or two seasons where every team had two byes. … If you want to do this, reinstate two byes and give every team that’s playing on Thursday the bye going into it. I get that it will be difficult scheduling wise, but we've done far more difficult things than that” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 11/29).
