Insider predicts NFC East rivals will play on Black Friday

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) during the second quarter against the New York Giants during an NFC divisional-round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Insider predicts NFC East rivals will play in inaugural Black Friday game

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 5/1/23

NBC Sports' Peter King believes a pair of NFC East clubs will face off in the league's debut Black Friday game.

In his latest "Football Morning in America" column, King wrote that the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles taking on the New York Giants is "the leader in the clubhouse" to be announced as the Black Friday contest when the NFL schedule is released on May 11. King did not say which of the two will be the home team for that historic matchup.

It was reported last spring that Amazon executives wanted at least one NFL game for the Friday after Thanksgiving after the company signed an 11-year contract reportedly worth an average of $1.2B per year for the exclusive national rights for "Thursday Night Football" broadcasts. Reports from March then confirmed Amazon is streaming this year's Black Friday NFL game on Nov. 24 for free.

The Black Friday game is expected to get underway at 3 p.m. ET.

"The first game ever on Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving is a very big deal for Amazon on the biggest shopping day of the year," King explained.

Additionally, King wrote that the New York Jets and new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers will likely be featured in the first "Sunday Night Football" or "Monday Night Football" game of the 2023 season. ESPN's Adam Schefter indicated over the weekend that the Green Bay Packers not trading Rodgers to the Jets until the final week of April nearly impacted the date of the league's schedule release after NFL vice president of broadcast planning Mike North previously said the league already assumed that Rodgers was "going to be the quarterback of the Jets."

King also said he doesn't know which team the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will face on the opening night of the season on Sept. 7.

"As far as the opener, the biggest point is that a competitive game is probably more important than the opponent; the NFL needs to find an opponent that keeps the game close into the fourth quarter," King wrote.

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