February 7, 2025/Midnight

Erie, PA. – This weekend is expected to be one of the most-watched television broadcasts of 2025. According to Nielsen, Super Bowl LIX is set to kick off on Sunday with over 120 million people expected to watch on FOX or Tubi. Every year, millions of parties are thrown with lots of money spent on food, decorations, and even sports gambling. While the big game is always a success, one of the biggest complaints over the years has been viewers getting to bed late and having to wake up early for work the next day. Known as “Super Sick Monday,” the day after the Super Bowl is one of the most called-off workdays annually (Bailey, February 7th, 2024).

Since 2004, the Super Bowl had been played during the first week in February. With the NFL’s expansion of the regular season to 17 games in 2021, the league moved its biggest event to the second week of February. Over the past few months, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed interest in adding an 18th regular season game to the schedule. While this change feels inevitable, especially with fans wanting more football and the league ready to profit, it won’t happen for a couple of years. As Fox News reports, this proposed extension of the regular season would set up the Super Bowl to kick off on President’s Day Weekend. This poses a big question about the future of the NFL’s biggest game: should Super Bowl Sunday be moved to President’s Day Weekend?

The answer is yes. While the argument of whether there should be 18 regular season games is controversial, there is no doubt that moving the Super Bowl to a long weekend where the majority of America has off is a smart decision.

First, it will boost productivity and attendance at school and work. Children and teenagers will not have to stay up late to watch the game, while adults will not have an excuse to call off work. Second, it will help grow the game and increase viewership. Young children will be able to watch and learn about the game, while more adults will be eager to go out for the game instead of going to bed. Third, it will allow for more travel opportunities to attend the game. Football fans would have more time to spend out of town to be at the game while having Monday off allows a travel day back home. Unfortunately, there is one reason that it could hurt the NFL. Since families usually target President’s Day weekend for vacations, they will likely not tune into the game.

Whether or not you agree with this idea, it most likely will happen anyway. While the official move might not happen for a few years, we will get our first taste in 2027 when President’s Day Weekend will fall on the second weekend of February instead of the third. I cannot wait to experience Super Bowl Sunday where I will not have to worry about studying for a test the next day. Hopefully, you will, too.