NFL Reportedly Has Plans To Take Advantage Of Another Popular USA Holiday – New Day To Host Its First Game Ever In 2026

This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

In 2023, the NFL added a game on the day after Thanksgiving to the schedule. Now it appears they could add another game on the night before the holiday as well.

After starting the tradition of a Black Friday game, the league now wants to explore adding another game to the schedule on the night before Thanksgiving. Should this happen, that means the NFL would hold a game on Wednesday, Nov. 25, this year.

Schefter: NFL exploring playing Thanksgiving Eve game this season.

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) March 11, 2026

If this goes through, the NFL would have at least one game on the schedule for 7 of the 9 days starting on Wednesday of that week.

The inaugural 2023 NFL Black Friday game featured the Miami Dolphins defeating the New York Jets 34-13. It was streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime.

What Another Game During Thanksgiving Week Would Look Like

Rumors of adding an 18th game to the regular season have been talked about for years. However, representatives from the NFL Players Association stated the union’s members had “no appetite” to tack on another week.

Yet the NFL has found ways to expand its media partnerships by creating unique broadcast windows, such as Black Friday. Now, the league is exploring the possibility of playing a game the day before Thanksgiving, per ESPN. They have no plans to wait, as it could happen during the 2026 season.

It would mark the latest move by the NFL in recent years.

The schedule would look like this:

Sunday (Nov. 22): Regular Sunday slate
Monday (Nov. 23): One game
Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 25): One game
Thanksgiving (Nov. 26): Three games
Black Friday (Nov. 27): One or two games
Saturday: No games
Sunday (Nov. 29): Regular Sunday slate
Monday (Nov. 30): One game

We will know for sure in a few months. The NFL schedule is typically revealed in May.