The ongoing struggle to persuade enough people to choose to attend NFL games in person currently is succeeding.
With the Chargers announcing that their Monday night season debut will be televised locally, all blackouts have been lifted for Week One. The league office previously informed PFT that no other games had been blacked out locally.
Of course, some teams have tipped the scales toward avoiding a blackout by taking advantage of a rule that allows the minimum number of tickets sold to be reduced from 100 percent of the non-premium seats down to 85 percent.
Also, teams can buy any remaining tickets at 34 cents on the dollar. That may have happened in San Diego, where the Chargers moved 3,500 tickets during the 24-hour extension of their deadline. (The Chargers have not reduced the non-premium percentage from 100 to 85.)
The Chargers host the Texans to launch the season. Other cities hosting Week One games include New York, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, Jacksonville, Detroit, St. Louis, Dallas, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Charlotte, San Francisco, and Washington.