CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 17: Head coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints looks on against the Carolina Panthers in the second quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 17, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)Roughly a month ago, the NFL announced that one of its Wild Card games will be aired on Nickelodeon. The Bears and Saints will be the two teams aired on the special simulcast this weekend.
Nickelodeon’s broadcast will include slime graphics, clips from beloved shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, googly eyes and comic book-style bursts of color. It’s an interesting move from the NFL that should help attract a younger audience.
On Friday, Saints head coach Sean Payton was asked about this playoff game being simulcast on CBS and Nickelodeon. He had a hilarious comment this afternoon, telling reporters “I will officially volunteer to be slimed if we win.”
It’d be pretty funny to see Payton covered in slime after a playoff win, but the odds of his team celebrating a win on Wild Card Weekend are slim simply because they know this season is Super Bowl or bust. Nonetheless, the NFL world appreciates this quote from Payton.
Sean Payton, playing along with questions about the game being broadcast on Nickelodeon, said, "I will officially volunteer to be slimed if we win."
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) January 8, 2021
The broadcast team for Nickelodeon’s version of the Bears-Saints game will include Nate Burleson, Noah Eagle, son of longtime broadcaster Ian Eagle, and Gabrielle Nevaeh Green of Nickelodeon’s All That and Nickelodeon’s Unfiltered.
If this experiment on Nickelodeon receives strong ratings, the NFL would be wise to place additional games on the network.
Kickoff for the Bears-Saints game is at 4:40 p.m. ET on CBS and Nickelodeon.
