If you doubt that the NFL views theĀ Kansas City ChiefsĀ as “America’s Team,” it should be alleviatedĀ after the 2025 schedule release.
Why is that the case?
In years past, per NFL rules, teams were awarded a maximum of six primetime games on the initial schedule. The league’s flex scheduling rules allowed them to be awarded a seventh primetime game from Weeks 12 to 17. However, they were never allowed more than that on the initial schedule to be fair and equitable to all NFL teams.
Things seem to have changed this year, with the league finding a loophole in its rules to give the Chiefs a seventh primetime game during the 2025 NFL season.
How the Chiefs landed a historic seven primetime games during the 2025 NFL season
Here’s the NFL loophole that allows for seven primetime games. The league only counts official Sunday, Monday, and Thursday night games as “primetime” games. That means,Ā when the ChiefsĀ kick things off in BrazilĀ against theĀ Los Angeles ChargersĀ in Week 1, despite that game technically occurring in primetime, it won’t count toward the official six primetime game allotment. It’s not the first time the league has done this to get around the primetime game allotment, but it is the first time they’ve done it with Kansas City.
The “Sunday Night Football” games against theĀ New York Giants,Ā Detroit Lions, andĀ Ā Houston TexansĀ will count. The “Monday Night Football” games against theĀ Jacksonville JaguarsĀ andĀ Washington CommandersĀ will count. Even the “Thursday Night Football” Christmas Night game against theĀ Denver BroncosĀ will count. So, technically, the Chiefs only have six primetime games in the eyes of the NFL. But they also have 12 games broadcast nationally, meaning more eyeballs on Kansas City.
Another historic aspect of these primetime games is that the Chiefs will be the first team in league history to play in five such games in the first eight weeks of the 2025 NFL season. It’ll get an asterisk without the first game being an “official” primetime game, but that’s a hell of an achievement either way. It shows exactly how the NFL views this team, and it’s about more than just dollar signs for the broadcast networks and the league.
