The NFL is currently engaged in an antitrust lawsuit filed by viewers.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admits that the league’s own production of Thursday Night Football was below the standards (Image via Imago)

The NFL is known to deliver the highest quality of entertainment when it comes to American football. There is no doubt in the level of effort and creativity used to ensure that fans stay tuned from well before the game to the post game debates. However, at one point of time, the NFL produced Thursday Night Football from its own production house, something Commissioner Roger Goodell apparently was not proud of.

The Commissioner revealed this recently while taking the stand in a Los Angeles courtroom. The New York Post recorded him saying:

I had my own opinion that our production was below standards that the networks (Fox and CBS) had set. We had not met that standard.

Roger Goodell on NFL’s production of ‘Thursday Night Football’

This meant, that the NFL‘s own production was not up to the standards set by television powerhouses FOX and CBS. That pushed him to shelve the idea and look for an outside production house to take over the telecast.

In 2023, broadcast of Thursday Night Football was taken over by Amazon’s Prime Video. Since then, the league has seen a surge in viewers for the mid-week game, suggesting that probably Roger Goodell was right to move it out of their own studios.

Goodell’s decision was startling at the time, considering that in-house production would be relatively inexpensive to run. Therefore, it shows that the NFL is a league that is looking to maximize viewer experience as well as revenue.

Jerry Jones supports Roger Goodell’s stand by taunting Cincinnati Bengals

Roger Goodell was taking the stand to appear for questioning in the antitrust lawsuit filed by consumers of the Sunday Ticket. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, as a member of the league’s media committee, also took the stand. When talking about each team trying to get their own TV deals, Jones opposed the idea and took a subtle jab at the Bengals in the process.

I am convinced I would make a lot more money than the Bengals. I’m completely against each team doing TV deals. It is flawed.

Jerry Jones said

With this statement, he suggested that the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals will not be able to make much from an exclusive TV rights deal. On the other hand, his Dallas Cowboys would make much more.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones supported the league’s broadcasting deals (image via Imago)
Teams in the NFL have been trying to get their own TV deals. That is, they believe it will help them earn more. However, the NFL is opposed to the idea as it feels that a collective TV deal will benefit all teams equally.

The current TV rights deal is equally split, helping all teams that make up the NFL to have an equal amount of money to play with every season. That is why the league is constantly looking to bag the best deals available.