The secrets behind the making of the NFL schedule
The NFL released its 2017 schedule last Thursday, the culmination of four months of work by four humans, hundreds of computers, and the stamp of approval from commissioner Roger Goodell.
The schedule that will be played this fall was No. 52,129 pumped out by the machines, and was suitable enough for all 32 teams, the five television networks (CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, and NFL), and the league office.
And that’s the NFL’s criteria for making its schedule: “good enough.” The “perfect” schedule is a mythical creature that doesn’t exist.
“It’s a mathematical monster, a really complex problem, but it’s one without one specific, right answer,” said Mike North, the NFL’s senior director of broadcasting. “Of the billions of stars in the sky, we probably at least explored a million of them, and 52,000 [schedules] were absolutely playable. Then it’s just a matter of finding the one.”
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