The National Football League (NFL) and Enthusiast Gaming have announced a brand new collaboration, NFL Tuesday Night Gaming (NFL TNG), which will see teams compete head-to-head in popular games.
Teams will be comprised not only of NFL players and legends, but top gaming content creators from organisations like Luminosity.
Tuesday Night Gaming will debut on September 13 at 6.30 PM ET, streaming live on YouTube in the United States and Canada on Tuesdays during the 2022-2023 football season. Each week will see a rotating roster of 12 NFL players or legends and six gaming creators compete across three titles.
After each week’s gameplay, teams will be ranked, with the top four teams qualifying for a single-elimination playoff. The top team will be crowned champion of the inaugural NFL Tuesday Night Gaming Season.
“No one has brought together the gaming community with any sports league for a program of this scale before,” said Enthusiast Gaming president Bill Karamouzis. “NFL Tuesday Night Gaming is a new and exciting content platform for brands and agencies to connect with younger audiences through bespoke custom content and talent integrations, including owned moments, featured segments, social activations, and more.”
“We are honored to have been chosen by the NFL to collaborate on this unique and important initiative that will help expand the NFL’s reach to gaming audiences.”
A new type of sports programming
The conclusion of the first season will coincide with Super Bowl Week, where fans will also choose their favorite competitors to compete in a special edition gaming night, with the winning team receiving a cash prize to donate to the charity of their choice.
The season also has three so-called bye weeks scheduled, where the regular competition will be put on hold, with Family Game Night airing in its place, acting as a platform for families and younger fans to play alongside their favourite players and gamers.
The new partnership will also produce content in-line with that created for professional sports, including pre and post-game analysis, plays of the week, and highlights.
“The NFL is excited to collaborate with Enthusiast Gaming on this first-of-its-kind content series for the League,” said NFL SVP of consumer products Joe Ruggiero. “NFL Tuesday Night Gaming will be a unique addition to our weekly schedule that embraces the broader gaming community through an entertaining mix of NFL stars and video gaming culture.”
Although this collaboration is the first of its kind, NFL has already began making a name for themselves in the games space, with the league partnering with 2K Games in 2020.
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