Goodell Confirms Flex Scheduling for ‘Monday Night Football’

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters at his Super Bowl press conference in Phoenix that ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” will be able to utilize flex scheduling next season — and that Amazon may eventually have the same ability. 

“It wouldn’t at all surprise me at some point that we have it on Thursdays at some stage, but not today,” Goodell said on Wednesday. “It will certainly be something that’ll be on our horizon.”

• Goodell said Amazon’s first season as the exclusive home of Thursday night games worked “exactly [as the league] anticipated,” because — despite a smaller audience — it was around 10 years younger. 
• YouTube TV, which recently secured the NFL Sunday Ticket, “will change the experience” of subscribers to the out-of-market package held by DirecTV since 1994. 
• Discussions around the potential sale of part of NFL Media haven’t led to a deal, but Goodell said the league “absolutely” will continue to explore its options.

Goodell didn’t provide details on how flex scheduling will be rolled out for “Monday Night Football.” NBC could flex games to Sunday night for several seasons.

Diversity Update

Goodell touted the NFL’s incubator programs to address the lack of diversity in coaching and front-office execs, saying there’s been meaningful progress over the last year. 

“I still feel like there’s better work and more work ahead of us,” Goodell said. “I think that there’s been progress, and we’re pleased to see progress, but it’s never enough.”