The Super Bowl is the highlight of American sports. It’s an unofficial holiday that brings millions together for one night. Yet its scheduling on a Sunday continues to cause disruptions for fans who must face the unbearable task of dragging themselves to work or school the next morning. Isn’t it time to rethink tradition and consider moving the Super Bowl to Saturday?
This debate is not new. Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, addressed the topic in 2018, stating that Sunday offers larger audiences and better opportunities for fans to watch the game. “That [idea] has been around for a long time, people have talked about that,” Roger Goodell said back in 2018 on the Kyle Brandt podcast. “The reason we haven’t done it in the past is simply just from an audience standpoint. The audiences on Sunday night are so much larger. Fans want to have the best opportunity to be able to see the game and we want to give that to them, so Sunday night is a better night.”
Another argument is tradition. Executive Vice President and Head Strategy Analytics for FOX Sports, Mike Mulvill, believes that, “the Super Bowl is more than a sporting event, it’s an American holiday,” Mulvihill said. “You don’t move Independence Day off July 4th, you don’t move Christmas off 12/25. I don’t think you move the Super Bowl off Sunday. It’s what we’ve had our whole lives, everybody is comfortable with it.”
The notion that “Sunday is Football Day” no longer holds true. NFL games now dominate Monday and Thursday night, and playoff games are regularly played on Saturdays. If playoff matchups can thrive on Saturdays, then why can’t the Super Bowl? College football, traditionally associated with Saturdays, ends weeks before the Super Bowl. The NCAA Championship game is typically held in early January, leaving the football audiences wide open for the NFL.
One of the most compelling reasons to move the Super Bowl to Saturday is the audience impact. While the NFL and Goodall believe that Sunday night attracts more viewers, the opposite could most likely be true as well. A Saturday game would allow fans to fully enjoy the entire game without worrying about school or work the next day. According to a Workforce Institute survey, about 18.8 million people missed work after the Super Bowl in 2023. A Saturday game would reduce the post-game slump, giving fans a full day to recover, win or lose.
Critics of the change, like former Eagles center Jason Kelce, argue in favor of keeping the game on Sunday. On his podcast, New Heights, Kelce expressed his belief in maintaining the tradition, saying it’s what fans are accustomed to. But relying on tradition alone prevents opportunities for growth and improvement. The NFL is no stranger to changes that fans have embraced. For example, the addition of Thursday Night Football expanded the NFL schedule and initially faced criticism, yet it has since become a staple of the season. The league also extended the regular season to 17 games in 2021—a controversial move that altered the schedule but ultimately gained acceptance among players and fans alike. These changes prove that the NFL is willing to adapt for growth and fan engagement, so why not adjust the timing of its biggest event?
One possible solution is to move the Super Bowl to the Saturday before Presidents’ Day, allowing fans to have the following Monday off to recover. This would likely require pushing the entire NFL season back an additional week, potentially extending it to 18 weeks. Some players have expressed concerns about lengthening the season. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, speaking on the Pardon My Take podcast, suggested that if the NFL moves to an 18-game schedule, it should include two bye weeks to ensure player safety. He proposed a universal bye in Week 13, coupled with moving the Pro Bowl to mid-season, to provide rest and maintain player performance.
Moving the Super Bowl to a Saturday is not about erasing tradition- it’s about adapting to the benefits of fans, players, and the game itself. The NFL has repeatedly shown that changes can coexist with maintaining tradition through expanded schedules or prime-time broadcasts. By making this change, the league can create a more enjoyable experience for everyone while simultaneously preserving the excitement of the nation’s favorite unofficial holiday.
