Report: NFL explores adding game on Thanksgiving Eve

The NFL is considering adding a Thanksgiving Eve game to the schedule as early as the 2026 season, ESPN reported Wednesday.

BY FIELD LEVEL MEDIA

Mar 11, 2026, 8:03 AM Updated: 11:01 am

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The NFL is considering adding a Thanksgiving Eve game to the schedule as early as the 2026 season, ESPN reported Wednesday.

Adding a potential contest on Wednesday, Nov. 25, to the traditional Thursday game menu would follow the league’s recent trend of expanding its holiday offerings.

NFL now is exploring playing a game on Thanksgiving Eve as early as this season. This year this would be Wednesday, Nov. 25. pic.twitter.com/ZFTrOIjTYV

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2026

The NFL has played a game on Black Friday since 2023, with commissioner Roger Goodell telling the Wall Street Journal in December that a second game could be added this season on Friday, Nov. 27.

There was a Christmas Day tripleheader last season, when the holiday fell on a Thursday. In 2023, the NFL played two Christmas games on a Wednesday.

A Thanksgiving Eve game in 2026 would give the league a nine-day stretch with seven days of NFL action from Nov. 22-30.

–Field Level Media

More on a potential Thanksgiving Eve NFL Game

According to Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal, teams emerging from byes would get first consideration to play on Thanksgiving Eve.

That would essentially do away with the traditional full bye for those teams, instead giving them a shorter break before and after the game. If the games on either side are played on Sundays, they’d actually end up with more time off following the Thanksgiving Eve game than they would before it.