When Does the NFL Schedule Release?

The NFL schedule release is one of the most highly anticipated events of the offseason. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Introduction

The National Football League schedule is typically released in the late spring, a few months before the start of the regular season. The release date is usually announced a few weeks in advance, so fans can plan their fall accordingly.

This year, the NFL schedule is set to be released on Wednesday, May 12th. The regular season will begin on Thursday, September 9th and end on Sunday, January 3rd.

When is the NFL Schedule Released?

The National Football League released its schedule for the 2020 regular season on May 7, 2020. The season is set to begin on Thursday, September 10, 2020 with the annual Kickoff game, and will conclude with Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, February 6, 2022.

How is the NFL Schedule Made?

How is the NFL Schedule Made?
The NFL schedule is made through a process that involves the32 teams in the league, their home stadiums, and television networks. Here’s a look at how it all comes together.

The first step is for each team to submit to the league office their preferred dates for home games. This takes into account things like bye weeks, holidays, and stadium availability.

Once all of that information has been gathered, the NFL’s schedule makers start putting together the pieces of the puzzle. They take into account things like time zones, divisions, and travel distances to create a balanced schedule for all teams.

From there, the NFL works with its broadcast partners (NBC, CBS, ESPN, FOX) to determine which games will be shown on national television. All of this information is then compiled into a final schedule which is typically released in mid-April.

Why is the NFL Schedule Released So Late?

One of the most common questions we get from fans is, “When will the schedule be released?” It’s a reasonable question considering most of the other major professional sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NHL) release their schedule well ahead of time – sometimes as early as August. So why does the NFL seem to wait until the last minute?

The answer is simple: TV.

The NFL is the only major sport that plays the majority of its games on one day – Sunday. That gives them a lot more flexibility than other leagues when it comes to scheduling. And with Sundays being such a valuable commodity in the fall (with football, baseball, and NASCAR all competing for viewers), the NFL wants to make sure they have the best possible slate of games before they release their schedule.

That means waiting until late April/early May to see how the previous season played out and which teams will be good (or bad) in the coming year. It also means waiting to see which teams will be featured in primetime games on NBC’s Sunday Night Football – the network pays a lot of money for those broadcast rights, so they have a say in which teams play in those key slots.

Once all of that information is taken into account, the NFL can put together a schedule that they feel will maximize interest and ratings. And that’s why we have to wait a little longer than fans of other sports to find out who our favorite team will be playing and when.

Conclusion

The NFL schedule is usually released in the middle of April, but it has been known to be released as early as the end of March. The exact date changes from year to year, but it is always released before the NFL Draft, which is typically held in late April or early May.