2024 Primetime NFL Schedules: Who Received Better Games?

The 2024 NFL primetime schedules have been a hot topic, especially with Amazon, NBCU, and ESPN collectively paying around $4.65 billion per season for the rights to broadcast these games. Now begins the debate about who has the best games. Let’s break down what each network has in store:

Amazon Prime Video (Thursday Night Football): It's lineup features divisional rivalries and fewer “turkey” matchups. Notable games include the opening night showdown between the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers (playing his first game after Achilles tendon surgery), as well as the Super Bowl runner-up San Francisco 49ers/ The Dallas Cowboys, despite their recent performance, remain the league’s biggest regular-season TV draw. The Detroit Lions also make appearances, including a rematch of the 2023 NFC title game against the 49ers. The Kansas City Chiefs host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 9. Division rivalry games are scarce until week 15, when the Chicago Bears face off against the Minnesota Vikings with both teams breaking in new quarterbacks.

ESPN (Monday Night Football): Disney pays an average of $2.7 billion per season for Monday Night Football rights on ESPN and ABC. MNF is prestigious, priciest, and features the most games. The 2024 MNF schedule includes an opening night matchup between the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers, as well as games featuring the Dallas Cowboys (America’s Team) and the Detroit Lions. The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs also make appearances. Notably, a division rivalry game between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings spices up the schedule in week.

NBC (Sunday Night Football): NBC’s Sunday Night Football remains a marquee slot. While the specific 2024 schedule isn’t detailed here, expect high-profile matchups and exciting prime-time games. Sunday Night Football continues to draw a substantial audience, making it a coveted spot for advertisers and fans alike.

When it came to planning the schedule, the NFL knew that it was going to have some “good games” for key windows throughout the season as well as for their streaming partners. That left the league with “200 or so games” that were “doled out strategically” to CBS and Fox, Mike North, VP of broadcast planning, said.