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Why are there multiple Monday Night Football doubleheaders this season?


Why are there multiple Monday Night Football doubleheaders this season?

Double football, double fun?

That appears to be the NFL's approach on some Monday nights this year. This regular season features a Monday Night Football doubleheader for four weeks, continuing the scheduling that has become the norm since 2022.

Why are there multiple two-game Mondays this season?

It is the result of an 11-year media rights agreement that the NFL entered into in March 2021. The deal, which included existing broadcast partners as well as 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 Monday Night Football weeks in 2023 (including the Christmas slate in Week 16, which featured three games).

Who will play in Week 7 and beyond?

Week 7 brings two late Monday games on October 21st. The Baltimore Ravens travel to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers at 8:15 p.m. ET, with the Los Angeles Chargers-Arizona Cardinals game following at 9:00 p.m. ET.

In the second half of the regular season, a Monday evening is double booked. To conclude Week 15, the Chicago Bears will play the Minnesota Vikings at 8:00 p.m. ET, while the Las Vegas Raiders will host the Atlanta Falcons on December 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

How do the simulcasts work?

For most overlapping MNF games, one match will air on ABC and ESPN+ while the other will air on ESPN. The Chargers-Cardinals game that caps Week 7 will stream exclusively on ESPN+.

(Photo: Ric Tapia/Getty Images)

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