Jets Expressed Interest in Hosting NFL's Annual Black Friday Game amid Bengals Buzz

The New York Jets are among the teams to have expressed interest in hosting the NFL's newly minted annual Black Friday game, league executive Mike North said during an appearance on the Adam Schefter Podcast.

"The Jets, once they found out they were the host team, then started to think about, 'Hey, is this something we could make a permanent fixture as part of the NFL schedule?'" North said, per ESPN. "Maybe they didn't raise their hands in February, but now that they have been selected as the Black Friday host, I think they might be interested in it too."

North added that the Cincinnati Bengals "volunteered" to host the game and that "there were others that kind of raised their hands" to host as well.

The NFL announced last week that the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets would host Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins in the 2023 inaugural Black Friday game at MetLife Stadium. Amazon will stream the game on its Prime Video platform.

Amazon vice president of global sports video Marie Donoghue said in a statement, per ESPN's Rich Cimini:

"We're excited to be the home of the first-ever NFL Black Friday game, and what better way to kick off this new tradition than with a rivalry matchup between the Dolphins and the Jets. On one of the biggest shopping days of the year, we're thrilled to offer another way to delight Amazon customers, and give all fans free access to this AFC East showdown."

Amazon wanted one of the New York City-based franchises to host the inaugural Black Friday matchup, having also considered a game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles before deciding on the Jets, per ESPN.

The NFL also considered the Bengals hosting either the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium.

"I don't think we were looking for this season to commit to a permanent home for Black Friday," North said. "Let's play one first and let's see what we learn and let's see what makes sense and let's see if it works for our fans, I don't think we were looking on day one to deploy this with a permanent home.

"But it's certainly something we should talk about. Let's see what happens this year, let's see what the fan reaction is to that day, and I'm sure we'll go back to ownership, we'll go back to membership and we'll talk about would we be interested in it. Is that a good idea for the NFL? I'm sure there's pros and cons to both."

The Jets are expected to be one of the most watched teams in the NFL in 2023 following their acquisition of Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers this offseason, so it's no surprise the league and Amazon decided on having Gang Green host the inaugural Black Friday game.