NFL executive all but confirmed the Jets' ineptitude led to scheduling quirk

The next time you’re sitting on the couch watching the Cowboys and Chiefs play in primetime yet again, make sure to thank Mike North.

North is the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, and he typically meets with reporters following the league’s schedule release. It was two years ago when North famously remarked, “The Jets kind of owe us one,” after the league gave Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets six night games in the 2024 season’s first 11 weeks.

Fast forward to 2026, and the Jets are among the teams with zero primetime games. Not even the New York media market could net the Jets even a “Thursday Night Football” appearance.

Instead, the Jets are scheduled to play 15 of their 17 games in the 1 p.m. ET window. The Jets have two West Coast games, and the NFL won’t announce the Week 18 kickoff times until much later in the season; the Jets end the regular season against the rival Bills in Buffalo.

“Relative to a team like the Jets or the Cardinals, or the Titans, that's what flexible scheduling is for,” North said about the lack of primetime slates for lower-tier teams.

“It's why we put it in, why we work with our partners every year to ensure that the teams that have played their way into bigger television windows have an opportunity to be rewarded,” North continued.

Mike North essentially said the NFL doesn’t respect the Jets

To be clear, the NFL’s decision to forego every team having at least one nationally televised game is the right move.

Fans will always watch, but we also don’t need the yearly, early-season Browns–Bengals or Titans–Jaguars game on a random Thursday night. It’s far better to create the schedule with intriguing games in mind rather than how quickly the league can check a box.

The counter, though, is how often we see the same teams in primetime. North and the NFL gave the Rams a record-tying seven nationally televised games this year, and they could still receive an eighth depending on late-season flexes.

Should the Jets have been guaranteed to play in primetime? Not necessarily, especially when they’ve only had one winning record since the start of 2011.

It’s nonetheless always interesting when an NFL executive is willing to subtly acknowledge publicly what those in the league likely say behind closed doors: the current Jets lack the league’s respect or interest.

What stands out about this year’s Jets team? They don’t have an offensive superstar or a proven young quarterback. Neither Breece Hall nor Garrett Wilson moves the needle.

Compare the Jets to the Giants, who have four primetime games in the first year of the John Harbaugh and Jaxson Dart era. Even if the Giants finish in last place again, at least there’s some level of preseason intrigue nationally.

As for the Jets? Well, no one will argue that they’re always good for memes and a bad beat.

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