NFL bosses make huge change to Thursday Night Football with fans outraged and wondering how to get a refund

NFL bosses have approved a huge change to Thursday Night Football, which did not go down well with fans.

The rule change, which passed on Tuesday at a league owners' meeting, will be tested in the 2023 season and rolled over to 2024 should it not be used this year.

Having met the minimum of 24 yes votes, the new rule will allow the NFL to flex games set for TNF to Sunday, and likewise, between Weeks 13 and 17, per ESPN.

Unlike the initial proposal, which failed to pass in March, the league will be required to give teams a minimum of 28 days' notice ahead of such schedule changes.

The originally proposed timeframe was just 15 days.

The rule also said teams will not have to flex to TNF more than once.

Teams will also remain limited to no more than two TNF games in a single season.

This new flex rule also cannot be used more than twice per season.

To say this ruling has gone down poorly on Twitter would be an understatement.

One fan tweeted: "This is a terrible, terrible idea. Flexing in general can be a pain in the a** for travelling fans, but a Sunday game suddenly moving to a Thursday could mean fans miss a game entirely.

"Pretty much guarantees I won't travel to a game during weeks 13 and on."

As one said: "Translation: The @NFL is now officially just a TV series…

"How the hell can you be a serious sport when you dramatically change the dates of potentially key games (with relatively little notice) based solely on what is likely to get the largest TV audience?!"

Another said: "Weekly reminder that player safety means absolutely nothing to owners or NFL leadership."

While one fan asked: "Will I get a refund if the game im going to is flexed?"

And the frustration isn't just felt by the fans, with recently retired three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt responding to the news with a thumbs-down GIF.

He has previously been critical of the proposal.

"Flexing games from Sunday to Thursday is a terrible idea," he said in a tweet in March, because of two main reasons: player safety and fans.

"You can't make this decision and also preach that player safety is a priority," he said, explaining what he meant by player safety.

"People spending hard earned money to see their team play. Who's paying to change their plans?" he said.

Watt's disdain for the suggestion was mirrored by New York Giants co-owner John Mara, who described the plans to flex Thursday night games as abusive in March.

"People have gotten used to going from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night - that doesn't mean that they like it," he said in a video posted to Twitter by a reporter at The Athletic.

"This year, we can be flexed to Monday night which I think is really inconsiderate to our ticket holders.

"But, to flex a game back to Thursday night to me is just abusive. And I am adamantly opposed to it."

And Mara's stance has since remained the same when questioned about the matter on Monday, according to ESPN, saying: "I stand by my comments in March. I still feel the same way."

That being said, 24 of his fellow owners clearly disagree, and it seems safe to say that one such person was Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

He said, via ESPN: "This should show our fans and the media industry that we'll do everything we can to make streaming on Thursday nights successful."

TNF games will be streamed on Amazon Prime in 2023 after making their debut on the online platform last season.

Amazon signed an 11-year deal for the broadcasting rights to TNF in 2021, worth a reported $1billion per season, according to CNBC.