You probably know by now that USC women’s basketball has a huge game against UConn on Saturday, Dec. 21 later this year. It’s a showcase game for JuJu Watkins and the USC program. Yet, the College Football Playoff first round is being played on that day, and the NFL has decided to pile on with multiple Dec. 21 games. The NFL could have played extra games on Saturday, Dec. 28, when there are no College Football Playoff games, but the NFL just can’t help itself. We ought to want the NFL to find a way to work around both big basketball games and — especially — the College Football Playoff.
December 28 was always there as an option. The NFL should have taken it. However, the NFL could have had another option, but something stood in the way of that.
Why did the NFL not play games on Saturday, December 14? As you can see below in the embedded tweet, the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 prevents the NFL from playing games on the second Saturday of December. There was a concern that the NFL would get in the way of college (and scholastic) football over 60 years ago. Now, however, times have changed. With the College Football Playoff moving to the third Saturday of December in many years, there is now an imperative for the NFL to play games on the second Saturday of December so that it can then avoid the third Saturday. This law needs to be amended.
Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 prevents the NFL from playing that day, as it's the second Saturday of December.
— Tyler Diedrich (@TylerDiedrich) May 14, 2024
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