Exec Reveals True Reason NFL Gave Broncos 4 Primetime Games

Prior to last week's NFL schedule release, there was a general feeling that the bloom on the Denver Broncos' primetime rose had mostly faded away — at least for this coming season.

The expectation was that the NFL schedulers would make the Broncos pay the price for last year's 5-12 debacle. Throw in an especially humiliating Christmas Day shellacking from the Los Angeles Rams in front of a national audience and few would have argued on behalf of the Broncos to earn a seat at the 2023 primetime table.

However, the NFL threw the Broncos a gigantic bone by giving them another four bites at the primetime apple in 2023. It's a valuable opportunity for the Broncos to redeem themselves, and as far as NFL V.P. of broadcast planning, Mike North, is concerned, the combination of quarterback Russell Wilson and marquee head coach Sean Payton factored heavily into the decision to keep Denver in the primetime mix.

"When we met with our network partners, as we do every year, and we talk about, 'Hey, which games are you most interested in, which teams are you most interested in,' there was no one who said, 'No more Denver, please,'" North said via a conference call with national media on Friday. "Absolutely not. Everybody, in fact, I think is pretty intrigued by the new coach, and that quarterback was extremely successful in this league for a long time, maybe had a down year, maybe deserves a little bit of a grace period. So, there were none of our partners that came in and said, 'Absolutely not.' And to a certain extent, we felt the same. … Maybe not six or seven national games like we did last year, but certainly not unwilling to see them in national windows. It'll be an interesting story one way or another all the way through."

READ: Broncos' 2023 Schedule: 3 Big Takeaways

More than any single factor, having Payton calling the shots now in the Mile High City has breathed life back into the Broncos from a wider national perspective. Without his heavyweight coaching presence, it's highly unlikely that the NFL’s broadcast partners would have had much appetite for a primetime showing from the Broncos.

There is always an eager market for a feel-good redemption story, though. Certainly, Broncos Country will hope against hope that its struggling quarterback can bounce back by excelling in front of national audiences.

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On the flip side, many of Wilson's fans-turned-critics would like nothing more than to see the one-time NFL poster boy continue to unravel from the comfort of their armchairs. Box office appeal comes in many forms, and should the Broncos start to win consistently again, they will massively increase their chances of flexing onto even more TV screens as the season progresses.

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