Regular season | |
---|---|
Duration | September 5, 2024 – January 5, 2025 |
Playoffs | |
Start date | January 11, 2025 |
Super Bowl LIX | |
Date | February 9, 2025 |
Site | Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana |
Pro Bowl | |
Date | February 2, 2025 |
Site | TBA |
The 2024 NFL season is the 105th season of the National Football League (NFL). The season is scheduled to begin on September 5, 2024, with reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City hosting Baltimore. The regular season is set to end on January 5, 2025.
The playoffs are then scheduled to start on January 11, and conclude with Super Bowl LIX, the league's championship game, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 9.
The 2024 NFL league year and trading period started on March 13. On March 11, teams were allowed to exercise options for 2024 on players with option clauses in their contracts, submit qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents, and submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2023 contracts and fewer than three accrued seasons of free agent credit. Teams were required to be under the salary cap using the "top 51" definition (in which the 51 highest paid-players on the team's payroll must have a combined salary cap). On March 13, clubs were allowed to contact and begin contract negotiations with players whose contracts had expired and thus became unrestricted free agents. [1]
C | Center | CB | Cornerback | DB | Defensive back | DE | Defensive end [lower-alpha 1] | |||
DL | Defensive lineman | DT | Defensive tackle | FB | Fullback | FS | Free safety | |||
G | Guard [lower-alpha 2] | K | Kicker [lower-alpha 3] | KR | Kickoff returner | LB | Linebacker | |||
LS | Long snapper | MLB | Middle linebacker [lower-alpha 4] | OT | Offensive tackle | OL | Offensive lineman | |||
OLB | Outside linebacker [lower-alpha 1] | NT | Nose tackle | P | Punter | PR | Punt returner | |||
QB | Quarterback | RS | Return specialist | RB | Running back | S | Safety | |||
SS | Strong safety | TE | Tight end | WR | Wide receiver |
Free agency began on March 13, 2024. [1] Notable players to change teams included:
The following notable trades were made during the 2024 league year:
Notable retirements
Other retirements
The 2024 NFL draft took place around Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit, Michigan, on April 25–27. [52] Chicago had the first selection via a trade from Carolina, who had the league's worst record in 2023. Chicago selected USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
The following rule changes for the 2024 season were approved at the NFL Owners' Meeting on March 25–26: [56]
The majority of training camps are planned to open on July 24. The preseason is scheduled to begin on August 1 with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game between Chicago (represented in the 2024 Hall of Fame class by Devin Hester, Steve McMichael, and Julius Peppers) and Houston (represented by Andre Johnson). [59]
The season is planned to be played over an 18-week schedule, beginning on September 5. Each of the league's 32 teams plays 17 games, with one bye week. The regular season is then scheduled to end on January 5, 2025; all games during the final weekend will be intra-division games, as it has been since 2010. [1]
Each team plays the other three teams in its own division twice, one game against each of the four teams from a division in its own conference, one game against each of the four teams from a division in the other conference, one game against each of the remaining two teams in its conference that finished in the same position in their respective divisions the previous season (e.g., the team that finished fourth in its division would play all three other teams in its conference that also finished fourth in their divisions), and one game against a team in another division in the other conference that also finished in the same position in their respective division the previous season. [60]
The division pairings for 2024 are as follows: [60]
Four intra-conference games | Four interconference games | Interconference game by 2023 position |
Highlights of the 2024 season are planned to include the following: [61]
As part of current media agreements, this will be the second season that the league's flexible scheduling system includes Monday Night Football games, and increased the amount of cross-flexing (switching) of Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox. [71] [72] [73]
After no Thursday games were flexed in 2023, flexible scheduling rules continue for Thursday Night Football this season on a trial basis. [74]
In 2024, any Monday Night Football game is allowed to be flexed between weeks 12 and 17, provided that the league announces its rescheduling no later than 12 days before the contests. For Sunday Night Football , no more than two games could be flexed between weeks 5 and 10, while any game between weeks 11 to 17 could be flexed; the league was required to give weeks 5 to 13 SNF games a 12-day notice, and weeks 14 to 17 a 6-day notice. [75] [76] For Thursday Night Football, only two games can be flexed between weeks 14 and 17, teams are not allowed play two away Thursday games during the season, the same team can not be flexed into TNF both times, and the league is required to give a 28-day notice. [74]
CBS and Fox are still able to protect games from being moved, whether from a change to another network or a change of the Sunday afternoon time slot. When the initial season schedule was created, the two networks selected a limited amount of games involving a specific number of teams from their respective conference. Otherwise every game can be initially scheduled on any network regardless of conference. [77] After the season started, the two networks were allowed to protect one game each week from getting flexed. [72]
Week 17: Five games have been set aside to potentially be moved into a tripleheader on Saturday, December 28: Arizona–Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta–Washington, Denver–Cincinnati, Indianapolis–New York Giants, and Los Angeles Chargers–New England. Three of those games will be moved to Saturday at 1:00, 4:30 and 8:15 p.m. [78]
Week 18: All Week 18 games are initially listed with a kickoff time of "TBD". Two games with playoff implications are planned to be moved to a Saturday, January 4, doubleheader at either 4:30 p.m., and 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN. Another game with playoff implications will be selected as the final NBC Sunday Night Football game at 8:20 p.m. ET. All remaining games will then be scheduled on Sunday afternoon at either 1:00 or 4:25 p.m. ET on either CBS or Fox. [79]
The 2024 playoffs are scheduled to begin with the wild-card round, with three wild-card games played in each conference. Wild Card Weekend is planned for January 11–13, 2025. In the Divisional round, scheduled for January 18–19, the top seed in the conference will play the lowest remaining seed and the other two remaining teams will play each other. The winners of those games will advance to the Conference Championship games scheduled for January 26. Super Bowl LIX is scheduled for February 9 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. [1]
Team | Departing coach | Interim coach | Incoming coach | Reason for leaving | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Falcons | Arthur Smith | Raheem Morris | Fired | Smith was fired on January 8, after three seasons with the Falcons. During his tenure, the team was 21–30 (.412), with no playoff appearances. [80] Morris was hired on January 25. Morris was previously the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams from 2021 – 2023. This is his third head coaching position, having previously served as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009–2011, as well as the interim head coach of the Falcons during the 2020 season, compiling an overall record of 21–38 (.356). [81] | |
Carolina Panthers | Frank Reich | Chris Tabor | Dave Canales | On November 27, 2023, Reich was fired after a 1–10 (.091) start in his first year as Panthers' head coach. Tabor, the team's special teams coordinator, was elevated as interim head coach. This was his first experience as head coach. [82] He finished the season with a 1–5 (.167) record. Canales was hired on January 25. A long-time offensive assistant for Seattle, he was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2023 season. This is his first head coaching position at any level. [83] | |
Las Vegas Raiders | Josh McDaniels | Antonio Pierce | After a 3–5 (.375) start, McDaniels was fired on October 31, 2023, after one and a half seasons with the team. During his tenure, the Raiders were 9–16 (.360) with no playoff appearances. [84] Pierce, the team's linebackers coach, was promoted to interim head coach. This was his first head coaching position. [85] He finished the season with a 5–4 (.556) record. On January 19, Pierce was named the full-time head coach of the Raiders. [86] | ||
Los Angeles Chargers | Brandon Staley | Giff Smith | Jim Harbaugh | After a 5–9 (.357) start, Staley was fired on December 15 after almost three seasons with the team. During his tenure, the Chargers were 24–24 (.500) with one playoff appearance and no playoff wins. [87] Smith, the team's outside linebackers coach, was elevated as interim head coach. This was his first head coaching position. [88] He finished the season with a 0–3 (.000) record. Harbaugh was hired on January 24. This is his second NFL coaching position, previously coaching the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 – 2014, leading them to two NFC West division titles, three consecutive NFC Championship Game appearances and a Super Bowl appearance, ending his tenure with a regular season record of 44–19–1 (.695). He was most recently the head coach at Michigan from 2015–2023, leading the Wolverines to three College Football Playoff appearances and a National Championship in 2023. His college experience also included stints at San Diego and Stanford, and his overall college record was 144–52 (.735). [89] | |
New England Patriots | Bill Belichick | Jerod Mayo | Mutual agreement | On January 11, Belichick and the Patriots mutually agreed to part ways after 24 seasons together. In that period, the team compiled a regular season record of 266–121 (.687), winning the AFC East division title 17 times with 18 overall playoff appearances. In the post-season, the team compiled a record of 30–12 (.714), with 13 AFC Championship Game appearances, nine Super Bowl appearances, and six Super Bowl championships (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, and LIII). [90] Mayo was hired on January 12. A Patriots linebacker from 2008 to 2015 (Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2008) and a Patriots defensive coach from 2019 to 2023, this is his first head coaching position at any level. [91] | |
Seattle Seahawks | Pete Carroll | Mike Macdonald | Reassigned | On January 10, Carroll was reassigned to an advisor role after 14 seasons as head coach of the Seahawks. During his tenure, the team was 137–89–1 (.606). The team made the playoffs ten times, including five NFC West division titles, two Super Bowl appearances, the Super Bowl XLVIII championship, and an overall playoff record of 10–9 (.526). [92] Macdonald was hired on January 31. A long time Ravens defensive assistant, he was most recently the Ravens' defensive coordinator from 2022 – 2023. This is his first head coaching position at any level. [93] | |
Tennessee Titans | Mike Vrabel | Brian Callahan | Fired | On January 9, Vrabel was fired after six seasons with the Titans. During his tenure, the team was 54–45 (.545), with two AFC South division titles in three overall playoff appearances, and a playoff record of 2–3 (.400). [94] Callahan was hired on January 24. A long time offensive assistant for several teams, he was most recently the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator from 2019 – 2023. This is his first head coaching position at any level. [95] | |
Washington Commanders | Ron Rivera | Dan Quinn | On January 8, Rivera was fired after four seasons with the Commanders. During his tenure, the team was 26–40–1 (.396), with one playoff appearance and no playoff wins. [96] Quinn was hired on February 3. This is his second head coaching position, previously coaching the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 – 2020, leading them to two playoff appearances and a Super Bowl appearance, ending his tenure with a regular season record of 43–42 (.506). He was most recently the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys from 2021 – 2023, with his unit leading the league in takeaways all three years. [97] |
Team | Position | Departing office holder | Interim replacement | Incoming office holder | Reason for leaving | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carolina Panthers | General manager | Scott Fitterer | Dan Morgan | Fired | Fitterer was fired on January 8 after three seasons with the team. During his tenure, the Panthers were 14–37 (.275) with no playoff appearances. [98] On January 22, Morgan was promoted from assistant general manager to president of football operation/general manager. [99] | |
Las Vegas Raiders | Dave Ziegler | Champ Kelly | Tom Telesco | After a 3–5 start, Ziegler was fired on October 31, 2023, after one and a half seasons with the team. During his tenure, the Raiders were 9–16 (.360) with no playoff appearances. [84] Kelly, the team's assistant general manager, would serve as interim GM for the rest of the season. [100] Telesco, who spent the last 11 seasons as general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers, was hired on January 23. [101] | ||
Los Angeles Chargers | Tom Telesco | JoJo Wooden | Joe Hortiz | Telesco was fired on December 15, 2023, after 11 seasons with the team. [87] Wooden, the team's director of player personnel, served as interim GM for the rest of the season. [88] Hortiz was hired on January 30. He previously served for the Baltimore Ravens from 1998 to 2023 in various executive roles and as director of player personnel the last five seasons. [102] | ||
New England Patriots | Bill Belichick | Eliot Wolf | Mutual agreement | On January 11, the Patriots and head coach and de facto GM Belichick agreed to part ways after 24 seasons, [90] with director of scouting Wolf having final say on personnel decisions. [103] | ||
Washington Commanders | Martin Mayhew | Adam Peters | Reassigned | On January 15, the Commanders hired Peters, assistant GM of the 49ers, as GM. [104] Mayhew was reassigned to senior personnel executive and advisor to Peters. [105] |
In April 2024, the NFL modified its uniform rule to allow for a third helmet option. The four teams that underwent a re-design process prior to the season, as noted above, have been offered a third helmet option, and it will be available to all teams starting in 2025. These alternate helmets can be paired with a team's throwback or alternate uniform; if it is for with the throwback uniform, the helmet colors and designs must be historically compatible. [123]
This will be the second season under 11-year U.S. media rights agreements with CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN/ABC along with its Spanish counterparts ESPN Deportes, Fox Deportes, and Telemundo Deportes. [71] Under these linear television rights:
All four broadcast partners will air at least one Wild Card round game, with CBS and Fox airing a AFC and NFC Wild Card game, respectively. NBC will air the Sunday night game under the fourth year of its seven-year deal. [150] [151] [152] ESPN/ABC will broadcast the Monday night Wild Card game, its fourth in a five year deal. [153] [154] CBS will air a second game in the wild card round as part of its rotation with Fox and NBC.
Amazon Prime Video will exclusively air a Wild Card playoff game for the first time during the 2024 season (it previously simulcast one CBS Wild Card playoff games on the platform in the 2021 and 2022 seasons), purchasing the rights to the game that was aired exclusively by Peacock last season. [155] [156]
This will be the second season that all four broadcast television partners air one divisional playoff game per season (ESPN/ABC, Fox, CBS, and NBC). [157]
Fox will televise Super Bowl LIX in the annual rotation of Super Bowl broadcasters. [158]
Tom Brady is set to begin his broadcasting career as Fox's lead color commentator, joining Kevin Burkhardt. Brady will replace Greg Olsen. [159]
Longtime CBS analysts Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason departed the network after 26 and 22 years, respectively. They will be replaced on The NFL Today by J. J. Watt and Matt Ryan. [160]
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