The NFL deciding to allow flexing for Thursday Night Football games from weeks 13-17 has been the subject of plenty of discussions, and that continued Wednesday on 670 The Score in Chicago with Mike Florio.

Florio was asked by Dan Bernstein about the motive behind the league choosing to add Thursday games into the flex mix, and Florio said it’s about making sure Amazon gets as many eyeballs as possible.

“This is about getting maximum numbers to Amazon,” Florio said. “And they don’t want to have the full season average get cratered by a late-season game between two bad teams without a great quarterback that nobody wants to watch during the holiday season.”

Now even with YouTube now being the home to NFL Sunday Ticket, the league is shifting more focus on streaming as viewers continue to cut the cord.

“This is all about the looming and ongoing pivot that our entire society is experiencing from TV to streaming,” Florio said. “It explains the two exclusive Peacock games this year, and I work for Peacock.”

Florio added that even though the NFL is at the beginning of this newest media rights deal, the added attention on streaming is viewed as a tune-up for the next deal. Florio believes the league will be negotiating a new contract by the end of the decade.

“They want to have streaming companies that will do what networks traditionally have done which is pay way too much – more than they should – for this content,” he said.

Florio mentioned the idea that the league floated about going direct to consumer with Sunday Ticket. But the league recognizes that because the TV networks make the league and themselves so much money, the asking price was too good to pass up.

“They’re hoping that streaming platforms will do the same thing, and one way you get them to do that is to deliver massive audiences,” Florio said. “I think that’s what it’s all about. It’s not just Amazon. It’s about Peacock, it’s about Netflix, it’s about anybody else that may come to the table and bid on the packages the next time around.”

The 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 is on Sunday, and SiriusXM has announced its programming plans for the weekend.

It all starts Friday with the final stretch of practice time on track for the 33 IndyCar drivers competing in the race, also known as Carb Day. SiriusXM IndyCar Nation will air live coverage of the practice starting at 11 a.m.

On Friday afternoon, two IndyCar shows will broadcast live near the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda. NTT IndyCar Series drivers James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi will host their podcast Off Track with Hinch and Rossi starting at 1 p.m. Comedian and Indianapolis native Joey Mulinaro will be the show’s special guest.

From 2-4 p.m. driver Tony Kanaan and broadcaster Jack Arute will host Brick by Brick, an exclusive IndyCar show. Kanaan won the 2013 Indy 500 and will compete in the race for the 22nd and final time on Sunday.

Listeners of both programs can expect to hear insider perspectives from the drivers on competing in the sport’s biggest event, as well as interviews.

Race day coverage of the Indy 500 begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday and can be heard on both IndyCar Nation and NBC Sports Audio channel 85.

This is also SiriusXM’s Listen Free event, so you can try out the service at no charge and listen to all the action.

The announced changes to NFL kickoffs continued to receive criticism and scrutiny in the media on Wednesday.

Dan Patrick said it’s clear that the league wants to see the kickoff completely eliminated. Dan believes by altering the kickoff or even eventually eliminating the play altogether takes away potential opportunities for lesser-known players to make an impact on the game and make a career for themselves.

“They want to get rid of the kickoff,” Patrick said on his FOX Sports Radio show Wednesday. “Now they give us the allusion that they care about player safety. But fans, we want to see. The players want to see a kickoff. There’s guys who make a living, a reputation – guys who knocked on the door of the Hall of Fame because they’re great on special teams. You wouldn’t have Devin Hester. You wouldn’t have some of these great kick returners.”

Former Buffalo Bills special teamer Steve Tasker was another name that came to Dan’s mind as someone who likely wouldn’t have had the same career if the league altered the punt as well. He said there’s no such thing as special teams.

“They’re not even special anymore,” he said. “They would love to get rid of the punt as well. But they can’t do that.”

“They have no problem adding an extra game or two,” Patrick added. “But as far as a kickoff, they don’t want that. They want the game to start on the 25 yard line.”

Paul Pabst chimed in saying that the league is claiming there’s a rise in significant injuries on kicking plays, but he doesn’t believe that the NFL is providing accurate proof.

“I think what is happening here is there’s more reported injuries, there’s more reported concussions,” he said. “I don’t understand the policy on this play, because the players want to return the kicks, the coaches want to kick off and return the kicks, and the fans all want the kicks returned. And you’re not giving it to them under the fake guise of player safety.”

Patrick added that hits on the quarterback are another example of the league making a major change to how football is played to the point that it creates a significant disadvantage to one side.

“They don’t even know how to tackle anymore,” he said. “Now you’re saying, let’s take out kickoffs.”

Dan felt like ultimately the NFL has good intentions, but the emphasis is in the wrong place.

“I’m all for safety, but I think a better helmet would be the start instead of ‘Let’s take away the kickoff,'” Patrick said. “They just send mixed messages with a lot of these rule changes. And they have no problem adding an extra game. So you would think if you really care about safety would you add another game? And then they’re going to add another game. We’re gonna have an 18-game schedule.”