Reports: NFL looking into Thanksgiving Eve game

Field Level Media|published: 03/11/2026, 5:43pm EDT

Nov 28, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) takes a bite of the John Madden MVP Turkey with teammates after the annual Thanksgiving Day game defeating the Chicago Bears at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images

The NFL is exploring a new piece of holiday real estate with the possibility of adding a Thanksgiving Eve game, as soon as the 2026 season, according to multiple media reports.

A Wednesday, Nov. 25 slot has been discussed as the league continues to look for additional standalone broadcast windows during one of its most valuable weeks on the calendar.

The momentum is easy to trace. The NFL's recent pushes beyond its traditional schedule have been rewarded with big numbers, including a growing Black Friday audience -- last season's Bears-Eagles game on Amazon Prime Video averaged 16.33 million viewers.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has also said the league has discussed adding a second Black Friday game.

"Every offseason we look for new opportunities to best serve our fans in the schedule-making process," an NFL spokesperson said Wednesday. "As commissioner Goodell has said, Thanksgiving and NFL football have become synonymous, and given the continued growth of fan interest around our games on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, looking for additional opportunities tied to this special holiday is exciting for us to explore."

Thanksgiving itself remains the league's ratings cheat code. The three-game slate last season averaged 44.7 million viewers, and the late-afternoon Chiefs-Cowboys matchup drew 57.2 million, an NFL regular-season record.

If a Wednesday game moves forward, teams would likely need byes the prior week, but for the NFL, it's another chance to turn a holiday weekend into an even bigger broadcast event.

--Field Level Media