‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Rail Against ‘Stupid’ NFL Draft Preempting Game Show

Jeopardy! wasn’t the only game show preempted by the 2025 NFL Draft on August 25. As ABC affiliates aired the draft’s second and third rounds on Friday night, Wheel of Fortune fans missed an episode, too.

“I live in [New York] and the stupid NFL Draft bumped Jeopardy! and Wheel tonight,” Reddit user I_Want_To_Know22 wrote.

And on X, @airwolf28 wrote, “@NFL @NFLDraft, thank you for blocking our shows! We can’t get the answers from the Wheel of Fortune contest — all because of this stupid draft you are making now! #NFLDraft2025.”

In another thread, that same user said, “@NFL @nflnetwork @NFLDraft @espn You all caused a lot of damage today since you decided that the draft is too damn important. Millions of us wanted to watch our syndicated show, Wheel of Fortune, which was having a contest. … What’s the point of showing over four hours of people selecting someone for hours, and still no results? Then, what’s the point of showing this on TV?”

Some affiliates, at least, announced alternate airings on social media. WJLA-TV

in Washington, D.C., for example, aired Friday’s episode at 2:36 a.m. on Saturday morning; in Rochester, New York, WROC-TV, a CBS station coverage hosting its own NFL Draft coverage, aired the episode at 2:39 a.m.

Related

'Wheel of Fortune' Contestant Hiccups Loudly Before Winning $56,000

And Wheel of Fortune fans in New York City lucked out because one of Friday’s contestants, James a.k.a. drag queen FiFi DuBois, held a special screening of the episode at Industry Bar.

“We have acquired a copy of the episode to be able to show on the screens in the bar, and this is the only way you will be able to see the episode for now if you live in NYC,” Reddit user RAS310 explained.

If you couldn’t catch an airing of the show, however, recappers like Andy Nguyen have a breakdown of Friday night’s game, which was part of the show’s Disney Princess Celebration. Spoiler alert — it was contestant Elsie who got to the Bonus Round. The category was “What Are You Doing?” and the puzzle board read “F L O _ N _ E R _ N _ _ _ O _ T.” Elsie immediately got the answer — “FLOUNDERING ABOUT” — and won $40K for a grand total of $67, 427.

Wheel of Fortune, Weekdays, Check Local Listings