NEW YORK, NY (WSAU) -- The 100th National Football League season is upon us in 2019, and reports indicate the league is looking to break one of its newest traditions to celebrate that milestone.
John Ourand of Sports Business Journal Tweeted on Monday the league is considering having the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears play the Thursday Night season kickoff game in Chicago on September 5th.
The Thursday Night Kickoff game has traditionally been hosted by the defending Super Bowl champions with either a regional rival or another division winner as the opponent. The game has typically come with a variety of fan entertainment in and around the stadium including concerts and interactive displays.
The only time in recent memory that the league has deviated from the practice came in 2015. That year a scheduling conflict with Major League Baseball forced the defending champion Baltimore Ravens to open the season on the road against a Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos squad.
According to Ourand the Patriots would instead host the first Sunday Night Football game on the 8th against either the Steelers, Giants, or Chiefs.
The full NFL schedule is usually released in the days before the first-year player draft, which this year is scheduled to be held in Nashville from April 25th-27th. Ourand says the league is not close to finalizing the regular-season slate but has held discussions with executives from its TV partners (NBC, CBS, ESPN/ABC, and FOX) regarding which games they would like to see in the prime time windows.
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