Theismann Sees NFL Scheduling Drift From Sunday Tradition

Theismann Sees NFL Scheduling Drift From Sunday Tradition

Former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann, a Super Bowl champion with the Washington Redskins, says the league has moved decisively away from its Sunday-afternoon identity as broadcast rights have spread across streaming platforms and the schedule has expanded to new days and international venues.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Theismann noted that the era when fans could reliably find NFL games on ABC, NBC, and CBS has given way to a fragmented landscape that now includes Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Peacock. Games are now regularly scheduled on Monday, Thursday, and Friday evenings, and the 2026 season is set to open on a Wednesday, with the second game of that week played in Melbourne, Australia. The league also introduced a Thanksgiving Eve Wednesday game and has continued its Black Friday fixture, while Christmas Day – falling on a Friday – will carry three games. Saturday games follow once the college football regular season concludes in mid-December.

Theismann acknowledged the trade-off. While he described the loss of the communal Sunday ritual, he credited the expanded schedule with giving fans easier access to more games and said adaptation was necessary. He frames the change as commercially driven, pointing to the financial incentives that multiple media rights holders present to team owners.

Theismann is also set to compete in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament, scheduled for July 10-12 at Edgewood Golf Course at Lake Tahoe, which will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock. The event has raised more than eight million dollars for charity, with sponsoring firm American Century Investments directing a portion of its profits to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.