NFL scheduler Mike North reveals whether Aaron Rodgers dictated league's primetime schedule
The NFL's 2025 schedule release sparked questions about whether Aaron Rodgers' potential move to the Pittsburgh Steelers influenced the league's decisions. NFL vice president of broadcasting and scheduling Mike North made it clear that wasn't the case.
North oversees the complex process of creating the NFL's 272-game schedule. The Steelers received four primetime games plus an additional standalone slot for their international game in Ireland against the Minnesota Vikings.
On Thursday's episode of the "Up & Adams" show, Kay Adams asked North if Aaron Rodgers influenced the NFL primetime schedule.
"The Steeler schedule obviously only gets more interesting if a future Hall of Fame quarterback decides to play," North said. "But they're still the Steelers and you know that coach has never had a losing season. They're always in the playoff chase down the stretch."
On a conference call on Thursday, North said,
"We don't know anything more than anybody else. The schedule was built for Coach [Mike] Tomlin and for the Steelers, and if Aaron decides to play, it probably just makes many, if not all, the Steelers games a little more interesting."
The four-time MVP quarterback has been linked to the Steelers throughout the offseason but hasn't signed with the team.
If Aaron Rodgers came to the Steelers, it would have impacted the schedule
Mike North acknowledged the Steelers-Jets Week 1 matchup might have received different treatment if Aaron Rodgers' future had been settled.
"If we knew for certain that Aaron was going to be the quarterback of the Steelers, we might've done something a little different in Week 1 with the Steelers game," he said in the call.
This point was further emphasized in North's appearance on the "Up & Adams" show.
"You'll see Pittsburgh at the Jets are on CBS at 1 o'clock in the afternoon in Week 1 along with seven other NFL games all at the same time," North said. "I think if the league knew, we probably would've scheduled that game for a national television window."
The NFL did place the Steelers-Packers matchup in Week 8 on Sunday Night Football, positioning it strategically in case Aaron Rodgers does join Pittsburgh. North explained this decision was partly to prevent giving one broadcast partner an unfair advantage if the game becomes a bigger storyline.
The scheduling approach marks a contrast to how the NFL handled Rodgers when he joined the Jets. Those teams received Monday night openers in consecutive seasons and multiple other standalone games. The strategy backfired when Rodgers suffered an Achilles injury minutes into the 2023 season and struggled with poor play in 2024.