Could Thanksgiving Eve game be a preview of bigger NFL schedule shift?

While the NFL traditionally schedules three games for Thanksgiving Day, the league has yet to take over the Wednesday evening that occurs before the holiday. 

It appears that may soon no longer be the case. 

Will NFL add a new day to its calendar?  

On Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Andrew Marchand of The Athletic revealed that the NFL is exploring adding a Thanksgiving Eve game to the 2026 schedule. That contest would take place in the evening hours ET on Wednesday, Nov. 25. 

Including the "Black Friday" games that have become mainstays of seasons, putting a matchup on Thanksgiving Eve would create a scenario where the NFL would air at least one game on television/streaming outlets over seven days from the Sunday before Thanksgiving through the Monday after the holiday. 

As Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk noted, the NFL likely would sell the broadcasting rights to the Thanksgiving Eve standalone game to one of its many media partners. 

"Every offseason we look for new opportunities to best serve our fans in the schedule-making process," an NFL spokesperson said in a statement shared by The Athletic and others. "As [commissioner Roger Goodell] has said, Thanksgiving and NFL football have become synonymous, and given the continued growth of fan interest around our games on Thanksgiving and 'Black Friday,' looking for additional opportunities tied to this special holiday is exciting for us to explore."

How Thanksgiving Eve game could be a preview of things to come for NFL

The NFL avoids starting regular seasons over Labor Day weekends because of concerns related to television ratings at a time when many families are traveling for end-of-summer vacations. That said, it almost certainly is a matter of when and not if the league will expand to an 18-game regular season that may include adding a second bye week to the campaign. Such a scenario could result in the NFL pushing the start of seasons back to Labor Day weekends. 

As it pertains to Thanksgiving Eve, that night is known as one that features people who watch football on Sundays going out to restaurants and bars. However, Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal noted that "ESPN ran a tripleheader of NBA games, and had its best Thanksgiving Eve audience in six years" this past November. 

Perhaps those numbers convinced the NFL that Thanksgiving Eve can be a worthwhile night for a standalone game. If that contest is successful, the NFL taking Labor Day weekend over could become more than an idea that's punted down the road for future discussions between league owners and the NFL Players Association.