Why are there multiple ‘Monday Night Football’ doubleheaders this season?
Twice the football, twice the fun?
That appears to be the NFL’s approach for a few Monday nights this year. There will be four weeks of a “Monday Night Football” doubleheader this regular season, continuing the scheduling oddity that has become the norm since 2022.
Why are there multiple Mondays with two games this season?
It’s the result of an 11-year media rights agreement the NFL struck in March 2021. The deal, which included existing broadcast partners plus Amazon Prime Video, gave Disney more content by increasing the number of games on ESPN and ABC from 17 to 23.
There was an MNF doubleheader in Week 2 of the 2022 season and four multi-game weeks of “Monday Night Football” in 2023 (including the three-game Christmas Day schedule in Week 16).
Who’s playing?
The Monday night overlap games begin tonight with the Jacksonville Jaguars taking on the Buffalo Bills at 7:30 p.m. ET and the Washington Commanders taking on the Cincinnati Bengals at 8:15 p.m. ET.
In Week 4, the Tennessee Titans play the Miami Dolphins at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the Seattle Seahawks kick off against the Detroit Lions at 8:15 p.m. ET. These games fall on September 30.
Week 7 brings a pair of late Monday games to the October 21 slate. The Baltimore Ravens travel to Tampa Bay for an 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff against the Buccaneers, with the Los Angeles Chargers-Arizona Cardinals game following at 9 p.m. ET.
The second half of the regular season features just one Monday night that is double-booked. To close out Week 15, the Chicago Bears play the Minnesota Vikings at 8 p.m. ET, while the Las Vegas Raiders host the Atlanta Falcons at 8:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 16.
How do the simultaneous broadcasts work?
For most overlapping MNF games, one matchup will air on ABC and ESPN+, while the other will air on ESPN. The Chargers-Cardinals game that concludes Week 7 will stream exclusively on ESPN+.
(Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
