The NFL schedule waits for no man, not even Aaron Rodgers. He will be one of the hottest stories of the NFL’s offseason until he signs or doesn’t sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the gods of television and streaming must be satisfied. They demand storylines, fan-friendly matchups, National attention, and Eyeballs. And they must be delivered in the form of the official league schedule by May 15.
Nonetheless, it is a complicated process that takes four months, requires thousands of computer-generated sample schedules, and has to balance stadium schedules that can include college football games, concerts, state fairs, and soccer games while accounting for maximizing audience engagement before delivering a handmade league schedule. Add in the Rodgers dimension, and you get an interesting SNAFU that the league’s schedulers had to grapple with.
If You Think Mike North Looks Exhausted, You May Be Right
If you’ve ever scheduled a quinceañera, wedding, bar mitzvah, or a trip to the DMV to get your Real ID, you can appreciate that everything needs a hard date to lock things in. The NFL’s VP of Broadcast Planning, Mike North, went on the Up & Adams show to lay out how the league handled the unique wrinkle Rodgers gave to the schedule.
Off the bat, North addressed the Rodgers element. “Aaron Rodgers’ first game with the Jets and then there’s his second first game with the Jets, those were both in primetime windows,” North said. “If we knew anything for certain, you might have seen a Steelers game in primetime in week one.”
North laid out how the NFL chose to play the best hand they could, saying, “At worst, Steelers vs. Jets is Justin Fields against his old team? At best, it’s Justin Fields and Aaron playing against their former home.”
How much did Aaron Rodgers affect the NFL primetime schedule? 🤔@heykayadams | @North2North pic.twitter.com/raST7zN5Us
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow)
“But they’re still the Steelers and, you know, that coach has never had a losing season, they are always in the playoff chase down the stretch,” North said. “I don’t think we overindulged on the Steelers. Their record warrants some national television exposure, and their national fanbase and look, those games only get more interesting if Aaron decides to play again.”
“No pressure on Aaron, the schedule is out,” North explained. “The Steelers are going to be well represented on national television, whether he’s there or not. But certainly I think the fans will be just a little more interested in some games, including probably that Jets game week one if he’s under center.”
As usual, the NFL has its bases covered. Whether Rodgers plays or not, the Steelers are a draw, and the broadcast and streaming gods are satisfied.