The NFL is ready to step in and fill the void should the 2020 college football season be postponed until after the new year. The league has reached out to its media partners about moving select games to Saturdays this fall, but will only pursue the plan if there is indeed no college football.
The league is planning to release its 2020 schedule next week, and all signs seem to point towards the goal of not changing the time of year pro football is played. An NFL spokesman declined to comment on specific plans when Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reached out for a comment.
In his column, Marchand notes that the usual windows will likely stay in tact for the NFL this fall. The majority of the schedule will be played on Sundays with prime time games on Mondays and Thursdays.
Saturdays could be utilized in one of two ways. Marchand says the league could go with a single spotlight game in primetime, or it could air a triple-header with games starting at 1, 4:30, and 8 pm on the East Coast.
May 9 is the target date for a schedule release. NFL owners would have to be flexible in order to make more Saturday football work. College football tends to move slower because teams are governed by their conference. There is no individual authority to make decisions like there is in pro sports. Chances are college conferences will not announce any plans for delaying or cancelling the season until well into the summer.
