Rob Goldberg
With the college football season in jeopardy, the NFL could take over Saturdays in the fall.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFL would move some games each week to Saturday if the college football season is canceled. The league is currently not allowed to broadcast games Friday or Saturday through early December because of its broadcast antitrust exemption, but it could try to alter the rule for one year.
The news comes amid uncertainty for the 2020 college football season. The MAC already postponed fall sports to the spring, while Brett McMurphy of Stadium reported from a source the “college football season is done.”
Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported Big Ten presidents met Saturday and that there is “momentum for canceling the fall football season.”
If the NCAA season is either canceled or moved to the spring, it would leave Saturdays open for the NFL to give more games national coverage.
The NFL often utilizes Saturdays at the end of December after the college football regular season comes to an end but before the major bowl games. Last season, there were three Week 16 games on a Saturday, including the AFC East-deciding matchup between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills.
Florio speculated the league could use a similar strategy each week in 2020, with games at 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. ET, although it’s not yet clear if there would be a full broadcast for each or streaming options.
