In a deal that helps the National Football League perpetuate controversial Thursday night football and possibly impacted the kickoff time of Sunday’s AFC Championship game, the league announced Sunday it will continue for at least one more year its relationship with CBS to broadcast those games.

The announcement touts the positives from the perspective of the league and CBS, but makes no mention of the strong and constant complaints by players and coaches about physical hardship imposed by these mid-week games.

It also makes no mention that this cooperative arrangement may be why the AFC Championship game between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots — broadcast by CBS — has the late Sunday spot (6:40 p.m. ET) despite the prospect of colder weather at that hour in the area.

The NFC Championship game — the Green Bay Packers at Seattle — was scheduled at 3:05 p.m. ET. Although that game may draw a significant audience based on the strength of the participants, usually the prime time Sunday games preferred by broadcasters, who are also able to follow with a strong post-game analysis looking toward the Super Bowl. The early broadcasts run right into the second game.

The new Thursday night deal announced by commissioner Roger Goodell, CBS president/CEO Leslie Moonves and CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, covers the 2015 season and the NFL has an option on 2016.

It calls for CBS to bear the cost and burden of producing all 16 games, with the first eight simulcast on the league’s NFL Network. The final eight, although still produced by CBS, will be shown exclusively on NFL Network. Two of those last eight TNF-branded games will actually be on Saturdays.

This odd arrangement began last year after NFL Network had significant difficulty going it alone on Thursday nights in previous seasons. Part of NFL Network’s challenge was because it was not as widely distributed to viewers as games broadcast by established networks.

CBS reportedly won a bidding battle against FOX and NBC for the Thursday night deal, which was only for one year with the NFL holding an option for a second year. Based on Sunday’s announcement, it appears that one-plus-one arrangement was repeated and the NFL did not merely exercise its option.

Taken in isolation, the Thursday night package makes little sense for CBS, which gains no direct, financial perks during those last eight games that are exclusively on NFL Network. During the first eight games, CBS is at least able to sell in-game advertisement and upsell viewers to other programming on the network.

The real carrot, according sources in broadcast television, is that CBS expects the NFL to reciprocate with other programming that is more financially beneficial — such as a shot at games in an extended playoff scenario and possible preferential treatment regarding the prime-time slot for the conference championship game.

However, it is believed FOX and NBC were not as receptive as CBS to a one-year deal that has no promise of further upside. Still, CBS apparently took yet another one-year deal, possibly in hopes of gaining some favored standing on other programming down the road.

The new deal appears to be the same as last year’s, with the NFL still holding all the cards beyond the 2015 season.

“We are pleased to extend our partnership with CBS for Thursday Night Football,” Goodell said in a press release. “The promotion and production by CBS and NFL Network last season made Thursday night a night for NFL football. We look forward to working again next season with CBS.”

“The benefits of Thursday Night Football are evident across our Corporation, including a strengthened primetime lineup that has built on its #1 position,” said Moonves. “The NFL continues to be the best premium content in the business, and we look forward to another year of our expanded partnership in 2015-2016, a season that will culminate with SUPER BOWL 50 on CBS.”

“I could not be more proud of the job the CBS Sports team did in conjunction with our partners at the NFL in producing, branding and positioning Thursday Night Football as a television destination for viewers,” said McManus. “The awareness and viewership for Thursday Night Football grew dramatically in 2014, and we look forward to continuing this trend.”

The release says “the programming relationship between the NFL and CBS will expand to include, among other elements, the development of new programming initiatives across the various CBS and NFL platforms,” but does not specify what that means.

–Frank Cooney, founder and publisher of The Sports Xchange and NFLDraftScout.com, has covered the NFL and the draft since the 1960s, is a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and worked with FOX Sports when it launched in 1994.