Amazon and NFL Announce First 'Thursday Night Football' Game, Add Football Legend as Analyst

By Brian Jones

Amazon Prime Video will be the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football this fall, and the first game for the series has been announced. Amazon and the NFL recently revealed that the Kansas City Chiefs will face the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football on Sept. 15 with pregame coverage starting at 7 p.m. ET. Additionally, NFL Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez will join the Thursday Night Football team as an analyst. The former Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons tight end will provide his commentary during pregame, halftime and postgame shows. 

"I am thrilled to be joining the team at Prime Video where they are breaking new ground as the first streaming service to secure an exclusive national broadcast package from the NFL," Gonzalez said in a press release. "Prime Video is changing the game, offering fans unrivaled and innovative ways to watch the most exciting Thursday Night Football matchups. I can't wait to go back to where it all started for me in Kansas City on September 15."  

"We could not be more excited to have Tony join the team here at Amazon," said Jared Stacy, director of Global Live Sports Production, Prime Video. "In addition to his Hall of Fame credentials on the field, Tony is a dynamic, thoughtful personality, who is incredibly passionate about the NFL. We look forward to Tony connecting with fans every Thursday night and are thrilled to have him as a focal point of our TNF team."

On Sept. 15, Amazon Prime Video will become the first streaming service to air a season-long exclusive national broadcast packing with the NFL. Prime Video signed an 11-year deal that includes 15 regular-season games and one preseason game per year. "Chargers-Chiefs is a classic AFC West rivalry featuring two of the most exciting young QBs in the game today. With the electric atmosphere at Arrowhead, there's no better setting for the first exclusive Thursday Night Football telecast on Prime Video," Marie Donoghue, vice president of Global Sports Video, Amazon said in a statement.

Gonzalez played in the NFL from 1997 to 2013 and was selected to the Pro Bowl 14 times and the All-Pro Team six times. After retiring in 2013, Gonzalez began his broadcasting career, appearing as an analyst on CBS from 2014 to 2016 and then on Fox from 2017 to 2020. 

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