Getty Geno Smith and Drew Lock are both back with the Seahawks.
Most players are not fans of Thursday Night Football. It just seems like the most critical players of the midweek game are on the Seattle Seahawks.
Veteran defender Bruce Irvin was the latest member of the Seahawks to vocalize his dislike for Thursday Night Football in a tweet on December 13.
“I’m sore as s*** still! Thursday night games should be illegal,” wrote Irvin on Twitter.
I’m sore as shìt still! Thursday night games should be illegal
This will be the ninth time Irvin will play a game on Thursday. Coincidentally, it’s also the fifth time in those nine Thursday games that Irvin will face the San Francisco 49ers.
Irvin Rips Thursday Night Football
Weekly Thursday night games is a relatively new idea, but American football games on Thanksgiving date back actually to before the league was even founded in 1920.
The league’s Detroit franchise played on Thanksgiving in the NFL’s inaugural season in 1920. There have been at least two NFL games played every Thanksgiving since 1967.
The NFL experimented with other Thursday games in the 1970s and 1980s, but they became a regular occurrence on NFL Network starting in 2006. The original NFL Network package only included games on Thursdays in December. But it slowly expanded until it became a weekly event on national television in 2014.
Thursday night games have aired on multiple networks since then. Starting this season, they have only been available on Amazon Prime Video, which paid $105 billion for the rights of Thursday Night Football through 2033.
It’s no secret that Thursday night games are a money grab for the league. There’s also no denying that it’s difficult to play a game on Sunday and then get ready for another contest four days later.
That quick turnaround is particularly difficult for veteran players such as Irvin, who turned 35 in November. But Irvin has been dealing with this “issue” since his rookie season and probably should be used to it by now.
Fans were also very quick to point out in response to Irvin’s post on Twitter that players salaries continue to rise in part because of mega television/streaming deals such as the one the NFL signed with Amazon last year.
@BIrvin_WVU11 @gbellseattle How much did Amazon pay to broadcast those game? You want the players to give their portion of that money back?
Former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was very critical of Thursday Night Football games during his career. Now, he is an NFL analyst on Amazon’s Thursday night coverage.
Irvin Also Vocal About Field in Germany
The Seahawks veteran defensive lineman is not afraid to stir up controversy. His tweet about Thursday Night Football was just his latest example.
About a month ago, Irvin also tweeted about his displeasure with the playing conditions during Seattle’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Munich, Germany.
“The NFL made us fly 10 hours to play on a terrible a** field like that s**** Krazy,” tweeted Irvin.
The NFL made us fly 10 hours to play on a terrible ass field like that shits Krazy
Players for the Seahawks and Buccaneers could be seen slipping on the field throughout that game. The NFL Network broadcast also mentioned Seahawks players changing cleats early in the contest.
There’s been a history of below average field conditions in the NFL’s International Series. Back in 2018, the league determined the playing surface at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City was unplayable, so the NFL moved the Kansas City Chiefs–Los Angeles Rams showdown back to the United States only a few days prior to kickoff.
There are only a handful of international NFL games every season, but the same could be said for Thursday games not too long ago. Like Thursday matchups, international games help the league spread its brand to make more profits.
Neither are going away for that reason, but that doesn’t mean improvements can’t be made. One can be guaranteed that Irvin will continue to be at the forefront of those issues.
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