Goodell: NFL Players Enjoy 'Mini-Bye' After Thursday Games amid Flex Schedule Debate

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell insisted "a lot of players" don't mind playing midweek games as the league ponders adding flex scheduling to Thursday Night Football, which could mean teams play more than one midweek game per season.

"They love the 10 days afterwards," Goodell said of players' attitudes toward playing on Thursday. "In fact, they call it a mini-bye. So, there's benefits on that side. You have different views, you want to consider all of them. Players have different views, coaches have different views. We have to try to balance all that."

Sports Business Journal's Ben Fischer and John Ourand reported the NFL's owners were going to vote on whether to allow Amazon to flex matchups for Thursday Night Football. The changes would've applied between Weeks 14 to 17 and come with 15 days' notice.

NBC Sports' Peter King wrote how "coaches hate the idea." There was also the existing concerns over player health when they have to compete on a short week.

Giants co-owner John Mara also argued the plan was "inconsiderate" toward fans, who could've seen their plans to attend a game on Sunday be significantly disrupted.

The NFL's owners ultimately didn't make a final decision about flex schedules for Thursday Night Football and tabled the discussion until the spring meetings in May. They did agree to increase the number of potential Thursday night games for a team from one to two.

Maybe there's enough resistance from Mara's peers to stymie the proposal. Given the amount of money involved, though, it could be a losing battle.