The upcoming NFL season will feature the first-ever Black Friday game in the history of the league. The day-after-Thanksgiving game will be between AFC East rivals in the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, but it was a different team who asked to be featured in the historic game.
According to Mike North, the NFL's vice president of broadcast planning, the Cincinnati Bengals volunteered to play on Black Friday every year and were hoping to make it an NFL tradition -- the same way the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions always play at home on Thanksgiving.
"The Cincinnati Bengals raised their hand, they put their hand up and said we're interested in Black Friday not just in 2023, but how about as a tradition. We play in Dallas and Detroit on Thanksgiving every year, how about playing in Cincinnati on Black Friday every year?" North said (via Mad Dog Sports Radio).
The NFL did consider a game between the Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, which would have been an AFC North showdown, but ended up going in a different direction based on the location of the teams. Since New York is the No. 1 retail market in the country, Amazon noted it would make sense to have a game involving one of the New York teams on a day that is all about shopping.
This offseason, the Jets signed future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, elevating them to a team everyone will be intrigued by. As a result of adding Rodgers, the number of prime-time games New York was scheduled for increased to five in 2023, including a Week 1 "Monday Night Football" home game. The league is well aware that Rodgers' presence will enhance viewership of Jets games, so putting them on a holiday made sense.
North said that with Rodgers becoming the quarterback of the Jets, this felt like the right opportunity to showcase the team. It was also a way to keep the divisional games from the day before going. Thanksgiving will feature three divisional games: Packers at Lions, Commanders at Cowboys and 49ers at Seahawks.
"A divisional rival Miami Dolphins on Black Friday kind of culminates the end of the Thanksgiving Day," North said. "We have three division games on Thursday … and kind of keep it going with Jets-Dolphins on Black Friday."
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North said they looked into the Giants when discussing having the game in New York. They felt like they could "make this something special" if they featured a New York team and were even discussing getting talent involved in the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on Thursday.
North also joked that he had his own idea for the day, but it did not end up being the favorite choice.
Saying they looked into a Raiders game, North laid out his plan: "I for one thought it would be funny, Black Friday in the Black Hole. The marketing team didn't agree with me,
