The funny irony of the NFL schedule release

The funny irony of the NFL schedule release originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The NFL is king.

There may not be a single week that exemplifies that more than this one: schedule release week.

The NFL slowly releases the big games, one by one, before culminating in the full schedule release on Thursday.

They announce things like Week 1's Monday Night Football, and the Bills' first game at their new stadium, and all the international games -- which were announced in full on Wednesday.

But here's the thing: We already know all the matchups.

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Wait, we know all the matchups?

The NFL's 17 regular season matchups for every team are determined in January.

The league just waits until May to tell everyone when and where those games will be played.

Yes, those are important details, and if you want to follow your favorite team to Paris, or Munich, or Mexico City, then it helps to know when you have to be there.

But for those who follow the NFL more broadly, and who maybe aren't concerned about attending a specific special game, the whole thing is a bit ironic.

It'd be a way more exciting week if this was when fans found out something like the Bills and Lions being on the schedule at all. But learning that it's on a Thursday rather than a Sunday is really just information they could've pursued a couple months from now, too.

The NFL doesn't sleep, though. It's May, and everyone is talking about football, just the way they like it.

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