2024 Nfl Season

Pro Football Hall of Fame members

O. J. Simpson
Simpson played eleven seasons in the NFL as a running back with the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985. He was a five-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro (all first-team), and the 1973 NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. He was also a four time NFL rushing yards leader (1972, 1973, 1975, 1976), two time NFL rushing touchdowns leader (1973, 1975), and the NFL scoring leader in 1975. He was also the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season. He died on April 10, age 76.

The following rule changes for the 2024 season were approved at the NFL Owners' Meeting on March 25–26:

• The hip-drop tackle, in which a player "grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms" and "unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner's leg(s) at or below the knee," was made illegal, penalized as a personal foul (15 yards) and automatic first down if committed by the defense.
• Coaches will receive a third challenge if either of their first two challenges are upheld. Previously, both challenges needed to be successful to receive a third challenge.
• Major fouls committed by the offense will be enforced if both teams commit a foul on a play that results in a change of possession. Previously, major fouls committed by the offense were ignored in that situation.
• The following rule changes for kickoffs will be in place for this season on a one-year trial basis, subject to renewal in 2025:
  • While the kickoff will still be taken from the kicking team's 35-yard line, all players from the kicking team except the kicker must line up at the receiving team's 40-yard line.
  • The receiving team must have at least nine players in the "set-up zone" (the area between its own 35- and 30-yard lines) and may only have a maximum of two returners.
  • Except for the kicker and the returners, no player on either team may move until the ball either hits the ground, a receiving team player, or goes into the end zone. The kicker must also not cross midfield until those other players are allowed to move.
  • The kick must land in the "landing zone", between the 20-yard line and the end zone. If it lands short of the 20-yard line, it will be treated like a kick out-of-bounds and the receiving team would then get the ball at its 40-yard line.
  • If the kick sails into or beyond the end zone for a touchback, the receiving team would get the ball at its 30-yard line.
  • If the kick hits the landing zone before going into the end zone, it must be returned or downed by the receiving team. If downed, the receiving team would get the ball at its 20-yard line.
  • No fair catch or signal is allowed. Officials will blow the play dead.
  • During the fourth quarter, the trailing team may choose to attempt an onside kick using the pre-2024 kickoff formation. If an onside kick goes beyond the receiving team's setup zone untouched, the receiving team would gain possession at the kicking team's 20 yard line.
• Rulings of passer down by contact or out of bounds before throwing a pass were made reviewable.
• Replay reviews when there is "clear and obvious visual evidence" that the game clock expired before the snap were authorized.
• Teams are now allowed to elevate a quarterback from their practice squad as an emergency third quarterback. Previously, the emergency third quarterback needed to be on the active roster.
• The trade deadline was moved from the Tuesday following Week 8 to the Tuesday following Week 9.

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).

The season is planned to be played over an 18-week schedule, beginning on September 5, with the NFL Kickoff Game. 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.

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.

The division pairings for 2024 are as follows:

Highlights of the 2024 season are planned to include (unless otherwise noted) the following, with all specific teams and kickoff times planned to be announced in May 2024:

• NFL Kickoff Game: The season is scheduled to begin the Kickoff Game on September 5, 2024, expected to be hosted by the defending Super Bowl LVIII champion Kansas City.
• NFL International Series: The NFL plans to have five international games in 2024. The first international game of the season will be Green Bay at Philadelphia on September 6 at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, Brazil, which would become the first NFL regular season game held in South America. Three games are also planned to be held in London, England, with Jacksonville hosting a game at Wembley Stadium, and Chicago and Minnesota each hosting a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Another game will be hosted by Carolina at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
• Thanksgiving: Three Thanksgiving Day games are planned to be held on November 28, with Detroit and Dallas hosting the traditional afternoon doubleheader, and a primetime game with no fixed teams. Another game will be scheduled on the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving.
• Christmas: Christmas Day, December 25, lands on a Wednesday. Although the league has never played on a Wednesday Christmas before, the league announced in March that two games will be played on this day.

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.

Head coaches

Front office

• On February 28, Washington announced that FedEx ended its naming rights agreement for what was FedExField two years before the scheduled end of the agreement. The team will use the temporary name of Commanders Field for the stadium while seeking a new sponsor.

Uniform changes

• Denver unveiled new uniforms on April 22—the team's first uniform change since 1997. The primary logo and color scheme was retained. Denver implemented an additional throwback alternate uniform based on the team's 1977 design.
• Detroit unveiled new uniforms on April 18. The set features updated block numbers, nameplate typeface and shoulder striping across all three designs. A black uniform will serve as Detroit's alternate while their throwback uniform was retained as their second alternate.
• Houston revealed four new uniforms on April 23, replacing the set used by the franchise since its inception. A new shade of "H-Town Blue" was incorporated on an alternate design. The original primary logo was retained and a secondary "H" logo was implemented.
• Jacksonville will introduce a throwback uniform based on their 1990s design.
• The New York Jets replaced their current designs with a new set that utilizes the team's legacy white throwback as its base template and updated their logos to accommodate the change. Green and black versions of the uniform were unveiled on April 15.
• Philadelphia will now have the updated wordmark from 2022 introduced to their uniforms.

Alternate helmets

In April 2024, the NFL expanded its alternate helmet rule to include 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 classic or alternate uniform, and if it is for with the classic uniform, the helmet colors and designs must be historically compatible.

• Denver added a third "Legacy Blue" helmet to accompany their throwback uniform.
• Detroit replaced the decals on their Honolulu blue helmet with a black version of the primary team logo and striping. The helmet will be accompanied with the team's black alternate uniform.
• Houston's alternate "H-Town Blue" uniform features the team's new "H" secondary logo as its primary helmet decal. The team's red alternate helmet was modified to include new decals that feature the team logo's horns on either side.

National

Linear television

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. Under these linear television rights:

• Sunday afternoon games are split between CBS and Fox (each network will be airing ten Doubleheaders, with both networks airing one in Weeks 1 and 18). Both networks will continue to carry the Sunday afternoon AFC and NFC packages, respectively. On Thanksgiving afternoon this season, CBS will have the early Detroit game and Fox the late Dallas game. Fox also has the rights to air at least one Christmas game. CBS also has the option of producing alternative broadcasts of selected games on Nickelodeon.
• NBC will continue to air Sunday Night Football, the NFL Kickoff Game, and the primetime Thanksgiving game. While NBC usually airs the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, this year’s edition is expected to air on a different network as NBC will be broadcasting the Summer Olympics during that time.
• ESPN will continue to produce Monday Night Football and a doubleheader on the last Saturday of the season. Most of these games will be televised exclusively on ESPN. Three selected Mondays will feature doubleheaders, with one game airing on ABC and the other game on ESPN. Other selected Mondays may be ABC/ESPN simulcasts. On April 10, 2024, ESPN signed a contract extension with Omaha Productions to produce the alternative Manningcast on ESPN2 on selected Mondays through 2034.
• NFL Network will air selected International Series and late-season games.

Streaming

• This will be the third year of a 12-year deal with Amazon Prime Video and Twitch to exclusively stream Thursday Night Football. This will also be the second season that Prime Video/Twitch will stream the game on the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving. DirecTV has an agreement with Amazon's to distribute Thursday Night Football games to business establishments.
• Peacock will simulcast NBC's games. The platform will also exclusively stream the NFL International Series game in Brazil. Peacock's exclusive game will be distribute to business establishments via Peacock Sports Pass on EverPass Media.
• ESPN+ has the rights to exclusively stream one selected International Series game. as well as simulcast select ESPN and all ABC games. ESPN+'s exclusive games will be distribute to business establishments via the ESPN+ for Business pacakge on DirecTV.^{[failed verification]}
• Paramount+ will simulcast in market and national CBS games.
• This will be the second season that the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market sports package will stream on YouTube TV, as well as on YouTube's Primetime Channels service as a standalone subscription option. DirecTV and EverPass Media will also distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to business establishments.
• The league's streaming service NFL+ will continue to live stream in-market regular season and postseason games on mobile devices only, radio broadcasts for all games, most out-of-market preseason games and a live stream of NFL Network on its base tier, and replays of games along with a live stream of NFL RedZone on its premium tier.
• In February 2024, ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to launch a joint venture sports streaming platform, which is expected to launch in time for the 2024 season and would stream all ESPN, ABC, and in market and national Fox games, subject to affiliate participation where applicable. The NFL was not informed about the service in advance of the announcement, and is investigating whether it could block the service from carrying its games.

Postseason

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. ESPN/ABC will broadcast the Monday night Wild Card game, its fourth in a five year deal. 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 by Peacock last season.

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).

Fox will televise Super Bowl LIX in the annual rotation of Super Bowl broadcasters.

Personnel changes

Tom Brady is set to begin his broadcasting career as Fox's lead color commentator, joining Kevin Burkhardt. Brady will replace Greg Olsen.