NFL’s grossly expanded national schedule is making RedZone and Sunday Ticket less essential

By continuing to increase the number of national broadcasts, the NFL has diluted the value of both RedZone and Sunday Ticket. The 2026-27 season will begin on a Wednesday, followed by a Thursday night game from Australia. The league will also debut its first-ever Thanksgiving Eve broadcast this year, leading into three games on Thanksgiving and one on Black Friday. Another game is set for Christmas Eve, with three more scheduled for Christmas Day. Beyond that, the NFL is extending its late-season Saturday package to four weekends, spanning Weeks 15-18. In total, the league will stage a record nine international games this season, all of which will air nationally. And all of that comes on top of the league’s usual lineup of three windows on Sunday and one Monday. Streaming service EverPass Media announced it will become the exclusive commercial provider for NFL Sunday Ticket starting with the 2026 season. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images) JEMELE HILL BECOMES SURPRISING VOICE OF REASON IN CAITLIN CLARK-MORGAN WALLEN "CONTROVERSY" The NFL saw the risks of overloading the national schedule last season. By midseason, there simply were not enough relevant teams to justify the number of st