Mike North Flags Week of May 18 for Nfl Schedule This Week
Mike North said nfl schedule this week could land during the week of May 18, a shift from the target window the league has used in recent years. The NFL’s full 272-game regular-season schedule has not been released, and no specific announcement date has been set.
Mike North on May 18
North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, said the league’s target has been the second week in May for the last few years. He added that slipping into the third week is possible, saying, "I don’t think it’s coming out in June, but that second week in May has been our target the last few years, but I don’t know that it’s impossible to think about that third week in May."
He also put the range more plainly: "Is there any magic to May 12, 13, 14? No. Is there any real downside to [May] 19, 20 or 21? No." The schedule still needs final approval from the commissioner, and North said, "It doesn’t get finalized until the Commissioner of the National Football League says it’s finalized."
Draft Moves and Prime Time
The draft can still change the timing. North said a quarterback trade or another big-name move at the top of the draft could require extra time to adjust the schedule, and he tied that to the league’s need to react quickly before the release is locked in.
He also pointed to Aaron Rodgers as a factor in how some games could be positioned. North said Rodgers could make the Steelers a more attractive candidate for prime-time games if he returns for another season, which gives one more reason the league may wait until the draft picture settles.
Two Games Set So Far
Only two games have been set so far. 49ers at Rams will be played in Australia on Thursday, September 10, and Ravens at Cowboys will be played in Brazil on Sunday, September 27.
That leaves the rest of the 272-game slate to be filled around the traditional network upfront presentations during the week of May 11. North said, "These five games that are out there as a package that are being negotiated right now, love to know when, where those games are going to be played so we can schedule them accordingly."
For fans planning trips or trying to line up games to attend, the working window is now the week of May 18 rather than the earlier mid-May expectation. For the league and its broadcast partners, the schedule has to survive the draft, the five-game package, and commissioner sign-off before it goes public.
