This season the NFL will begin playing one wild card playoff game on Monday nights, and the game will remain on the home of Monday Night Football.
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro announced at today’s Sports Business Journal conference that ESPN and the NFL have agreed to a five-year deal that will put the Monday night wild card games on ESPN.
Although the NFL and ESPN already have a deal that keeps Monday Night Football on ESPN through the 2033 season, the Monday night wild card games are separate from the regular-season contract, and all networks were able to bid on the playoff games.
The Monday night playoff game on January 17 will be shown with the traditional broadcast on ABC and ESPN as well as the Peyton Manning and Eli Manning commentary on ESPN2.