Amazon Will Broadcast Rare Black Friday Football Matchup Tomorrow: Here’s What To Know

Topline

The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets will face off in the NFL’s first Black Friday football game in more than 60 years, giving Amazon, the game’s broadcaster, a chance to further capitalize on Black Friday deals that will be directly presented to viewers throughout the game.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has thrown for 21 touchdowns this season. (AP Photo/Doug … [+] Murray)

Key Facts

Amazon said in a statement that exclusive retail deals will be revealed throughout each quarter of the game from brands like TCL, Lego and Nintendo.

The deals will be presented to viewers through QR codes, according to Axios, which spoke to a data analyst who said the deals could discourage some viewers from traveling to stores on Black Friday.

Amazon, which usually provides exclusive coverage of Thursday Night Football, intends to make the Black Friday game a yearly tradition, according to a statement from Jay Marine, a sports executive at Prime Video.

Despite Amazon’s hold on Thursday night games, NFL Thanksgiving Day games remained contracted with CBS, Fox and NBC.

Amazon hasn’t released estimates on what kind of profit it could see for the game, but the e-commerce giant is hoping it can top its Thanksgiving sales from last year, which it said was its biggest holiday shopping weekend ever.

Non-prime members will be able to watch the free game.

Big Number

17.1 million. That’s how many viewers NFL games are averaging through week 11, according to the Associated Press, a 6% increase from last season.

Tangent

A win for the Dolphins would make them tied for the AFC’s best record, which is currently held by the Baltimore Ravens.

Key Background

The last Black Friday football game was played in 1962, according to CBS Sports, which reported Amazon missed a chance to broadcast a Thanksgiving game in its Thursday Night Football deal with the NFL. The deal, finalized in early 2021, costs Amazon about $1 billion a year for media rights to Thursday Night Football, CNBC reported. Amazon will hold the rights until 2023 and is actively competing with tech rivals such as Apple, which is on a 10-year deal to exclusively broadcast Major League Soccer games. Amazon’s Black Friday deals started Nov. 17, though Black Friday itself is expected to be the company’s highest traffic day, according to Axios.