THERE is a specific reason as to why the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins game on Black Friday kicks off at the unusual time of 3:00pm.
The NFL has embarked on the first-ever Black Friday game this week.
Prior to the 2023-24 season, the NFL never had a game on Black Friday.
The league has three games on Thanksgiving as two of the games involve the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys.
But the following day is Black Friday which is a popular shopping day as stores offer sales at discounted prices.
The NFL has never done a Black Friday game since people leave the house to shop.
Amazon made the decision to pay $100 million to broadcast the NFL’s first-ever Black Friday game.
But, according to entrepreneur and investor Joe Pompliano, there’s a law that prohibits the NFL from starting the game 6pm or later as well as all day on Saturdays during the fall.
It’s called the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.
The rule was made by Congress to protect high school and college football from suffering a loss in attendance and viewership.
In order to work around the rule, Amazon paid the NFL $100 million to broadcast the Jets hosting the Dolphins at 3:00pm.
Amazon currently holds exclusive streaming rights for Thursday Night Football.
Yet, NBC will broadcast the Thanksgiving Thursday night game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.
NFL fans who own Amazon Prime will be able to watch Tua Tagaoviloa and the Dolphins take on the Jets.
Miami is 7-3 and coming off a 21-14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
New York, however, has lost three games and will start third-string quarterback Tim Boyle.
They benched Zach Wilson in their 32-11 Week 11 loss to the Buffalo Bills.