The NFL is set to broadcast its first-ever Black Friday football game this November when the New York Jets host the Miami Dolphins. But before the NFL settled on that game for Black Friday, another team volunteered to host the game on a permanent basis.
According to ProFootballTalk, NFL VP of Broadcast Planning Mike North revealed that the Cincinnati Bengals offered to be the permanent host of Black Friday games in the same way that the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions are permanent hosts on Thanksgiving Day.
But the NFL decided to go in a different direction. They’ll be showcasing Aaron Rodgers vs. Tua Tagovailoa rather than making the Bengals the feature attraction this year.
Per the report, there’s no indication that the NFL is considering making any particular team a permanent Black Friday team like they have on Thanksgiving.
When the NFL decided to play a Black Friday game, the Bengals asked to host — not just this year, but every year. The league instead decided to go with the Jets against the Dolphins. https://t.co/d95TbBcqNf
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 12, 2023
The NFL probably doesn’t want to be stuck with a permanent host of any particular day anyway. For years the Detroit Lions were unwatchable on Thanksgiving and in years where the Dallas Cowboys are bad, that marquee matchup is also over by halftime.
Simply put, the NFL would prefer to pick and choose the matchups and organize them by which ones are likely to provide the highest ratings.
While you can argue that the Bengals and several other teams could be a bigger matchup than Jets-Dolphins, the NFL clearly disagreed this year.