Why is there an NFL game on Black Friday? How Amazon skirted around 1961 Act for $100,000,000 Dolphins-Jets game

The NFL, known for its forward-looking planning, will see the implementation of another revolutionary decision today in the form of its first-ever Black Friday Game. The league has long held Thanksgiving games as an established custom. Although it is traditional for the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions to play on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday has always been set aside for the holidays.

But this season, the NFL will host a game on Black Friday for the first time in 60 years when the New York Jets take on the Miami Dolphins in a landmark Amazon Prime Video spectacle.

The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 is the explanation as to why the NFL avoided playing games on Fridays. The Act effectively prohibited the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB from hosting games on Friday or Saturday. Particularly, the NFL's increased capacity to sign big broadcast deals led to worries that high school and college football turnout and viewership would suffer. For this reason, this rule was passed.

However, the NFL continued to host games on Fridays and Saturdays, on a condition, despite the restriction. Late-season games, after the college football season ends, have been scheduled by the league in recent years. This way, there was no impact on college football attendance or viewership.

The NFL and Amazon have chosen an unpopular time slot of 3:00 p.m. ET for this year's Black Friday game. The reason is that the SBA Act only forbids NFL games on Fridays after 6 p.m.

Since Amazon paid the NFL $100 million, the league agreed to set the kickoff time at 15:00, and the fact that the event will end a little after 6 p.m. does not break any regulations.

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NFL Black Friday schedule: What time is the Dolphins-Jets game today?

On Friday, November 24, at 3:00 p.m. ET, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets' Week 12 game will be broadcast live from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The game pits two teams going on opposite trajectories against each other. The New York Jets were touted as a team ready to compete throughout the offseason after the promise they showed with their young defensive core last season and the acquisition of four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers.

As fate would have it, A-Rod suffered an injury in the Jets' opening game, and things took a turn for the worse from there. The team is now 4-6 on the season and has lost all of its last three games.

The Miami Dolphins, on the other hand, have shown explosive offensive prowess this season, which has carried them to the top of the AFC East standings. They currently have the highest total yards per game (434.0) in the league this season and a 7-3 record.

In order to stand a chance against the Dolphins, the Jets will need to provide something more special than they did in previous games.

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Dolphins vs Jets: How to watch the Black Friday game live

Normally, Thursday night games are exclusively available to Amazon subscribers, but the corporation is letting non-subscribers watch today's Black Friday game.

The information that you need to watch the game is listed below.

• Date and Time: Friday, Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. ET
• Stadium: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
• TV: Amazon Prime Video
• Announcers: Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color analyst), and Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporter)
• Live stream: Amazon Prime, FuboTV, NFL+