Creating the NFL Schedule

The NFL schedule makers — Executive Vice President of Media Distribution Hans Schroeder, Vice President of Broadcasting Michael North, Senior Vice President of Broadcasting Howard Katz, Senior Director of Broadcasting Blake Jones, Director of Broadcasting Charlotte Carey, Vice President of Broadcasting Onnie Bose, and Broadcasting Senior Coordinator Lucy Popko — must consider the fans, the league’s broadcast partners and many other factors when building the 272-game schedule that spans the 18 weeks of the NFL season and showcases the league’s best matchups and talent.

The schedule makers will have to work around events that are already scheduled to take place in or near NFL stadiums — events that may compete with the games, put undue stress on the playing surface, or create traffic or logistical nightmares. The league begins collecting information from the clubs in January about any events that may create scheduling conflicts.

The schedulers are also constrained by internal factors. A formula determines each team’s opponents every year, and a rotating schedule ensures that every team plays each of the other 31 at least once in a four-year period.

It takes thousands of cloud-based computers to produce thousands of possible schedules — a process that sets the stage for the schedule makers to begin the arduous task of picking the best possible one.

THE ANATOMY OF THE NFL SCHEDULE

The league’s 32 teams are split into two conferences — the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The 16 teams in each conference are split into the East, North, South and West divisions; every division has four teams.

Every team will play 17 regular-season games with one bye week. Teams will alternate seasons where they host nine regular-season games and one preseason game, or eight regular-season games and two preseason games. The NFC will have nine regular season home games in the 2024 season.

Here’s a breakdown of how each team’s opponents are set:

• Six games against divisional opponents — two games per team, one at home and one on the road.
• Four games against teams from a division within its conference — two games at home and two on the road.
• Four games against teams from a division in the other conference— two games at home and two on the road.
• Two games against teams from the two remaining divisions in its own conference — one game at home and one on the road. Matchups are based on division ranking from the previous season.
• The 17th game is an additional game against a non-conference opponent from a division that the team is not scheduled to play. Matchups are based on division ranking from the previous season.

GAME TIMES AND BROADCAST PARTNERS

The NFL's marquee matchups often are scheduled to air during the week’s premier time slots — Thursday, Sunday or Monday nights or the late game on Sunday afternoons. The league typically schedules the Super Bowl champion at home for the Thursday night game that kicks off the new season.

This season, the league will schedule two games on Saturday of Week 16 with NBC airing a game at 1:00 p.m. ET and FOX airing a game at 4:30 p.m. ET. The four teams that play that day, will play again on Wednesday, December 25, against a different opponent. These Christmas Day games will air on Netflix, marking their debut as a live game partner for the NFL.

In Week 17, three of the five designated matchups will be played on Saturday with the remainder being played on Sunday. Specific dates and start times for the designated Week 17 matchups will be determined and announced later during the season.

In Week 18, two games will be played on Saturday with the remainder being played on Sunday. Specific dates, start times, and networks for Week 18 matchups will be determined and announced following the conclusion of Week 17.

Most NFL games are played on Sunday afternoons, with early games starting at 1:00 p.m. ET and the late games starting at either 4:05 p.m. ET or 4:25 p.m. ET, depending on whether the game is part of a network doubleheader.

The Sunday afternoon games are broadcast on CBS and FOX; for the second straight year, games do not have a predetermined network assignment based on conference affiliation of participating teams. This allows the scheduling team more flexibility to build Sunday afternoon windows across CBS and FOX.

The schedule will feature doubleheaders on both CBS and FOX and every market will see four Sunday afternoon games in Weeks 15 and 18. Over Weeks 1–14, 16-17, FOX and CBS will each have eight doubleheaders. In those weeks, one network will show games in both Sunday afternoon time slots, while the other will air only one game in either of the two time slots. Doubleheader weeks generally alternate between networks, but not always. It is possible for one network to have doubleheaders on consecutive weeks, but not three weeks in a row.

INTERNATIONAL SERIES

In 2007, the NFL added a new twist to the scheduling process: the NFL International Series.

Each team is guaranteed to play internationally at least once every eight years. For the 2024 season, the NFL will play its first ever regular season game in Brazil, with a Week 1 game played on Friday night in Sao Paulo. Additionally, the schedule will once again feature games in the United Kingdom and Germany, with three games in London and one in Munich.

Scheduling these matchups presents a challenge for the schedule makers, which is why setting the International Series games is a particular focus early in the process.

Schedule makers then look at a three-week window around the international games to try to find ways to make long travel less of a burden on the teams. This includes where a team plays in the week prior to an international game and whether or not they have a bye week following the game.

FLEX SCHEDULING

In 2006, the NFL introduced a “flexible scheduling” procedure for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” Flex scheduling ensures that the Sunday night game will feature a quality primetime matchup.

During the 2024 season, flexible scheduling for Sunday night may be used twice between Weeks 5–10 and Weeks 11–17 . Monday Night Football games are eligible for flex scheduling during weeks 12-17 and flex scheduling may be used for Thursday Night Football in Weeks 13-17.

Sunday afternoon games may also be moved between the 1 p.m. ET, 4:05 p.m. ET, or 4:25 p.m. ET time slots.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SCHEDULE?

Each team has one bye week assigned and many teams have a specific number of cross-country games scheduled (as determined by the standard formula at the conclusion of the previous season), stadium conflicts and other operational obstacles in their schedule. The scheduling teams aim to balance these operational elements while still trying to maximize fan viewership.

The process is challenging, and there may be no such thing as a perfect schedule, but the schedule makers consistently try to provide the NFL’s fans and broadcast partners with a compelling and entertaining slate of games week after week.