Exhibition season NFL preseason

1 exhibition season

1.1 history
1.2 international , neutral-site games
1.3 television , radio
1.4 matchups

1.4.1 non-league opponents


1.5 schedule
1.6 controversy
1.7 proposed reductions

exhibition season

the games useful new players not used playing in front of large crowds. management uses games evaluate newly signed players. veteran players play quarter of each game (or less) in order avoid injury; third preseason game (or fourth participants in hall of fame game) exception, since starters play third quarter , both teams game plan game regular season. thus, first-stringers playing time kept brief in exhibition season, , in fact players not paid regular salaries exhibitions, same per diem receive training camp.

the exhibition game tickets, however, same price regular-season games. several lawsuits, individual fans or class action, have been brought against specific teams or entire nfl on practice of requiring season-ticket holders purchase exhibition games. date, none of these suits has been successful.

history

exhibition games have been played in professional football since beginning of sport. in fact, until league play formalized in 1920, 1 consider virtually of independent professional football team s schedule exhibitions (as in test matches). in years of sport, teams barnstormed , , played squads leagues outside own, or against local college teams or other amateur groups, charging fans whatever traffic bear.

when nfl founded in 1920, there no such things exhibition games, , games counted in standings , used determine league champion. in 1921 revised count games involving 2 league members, allowing non-league exhibitions still disallowing exhibitions between 2 league teams. rule had direct impact on deciding 1921 championship, in losing team had insisted, both before , after, game considered exhibition. in 1924, league again changed rule declare games held in december or later exhibitions. mid-1930s, teams prepared standard 12-game regular season schedule, although late 1939 teams schedule non-league exhibition games both before , during season (during bye weeks). pittsburgh steelers (then known pirates) known playing both in nfl , on limited schedule in decades-old western pennsylvania circuit in 1930s.

in 1960s, teams began playing 14 regular season games, , there corresponding decrease in length of preseason. teams played 4 or 5 preseason games each year. (for example, in 1966 each of 9 american football league teams each played precisely 4 preseason games.) end of decade, however, there rapid increase in number of preseason games, reaching 1950s levels.

with afl–nfl merger of 1970, newly merged nfl granted sherman anti-trust act exemption, emboldened team owners expand exhibition schedule , require season-ticket holders pay one, two, 3 home exhibition games if wanted keep season tickets. exhibition season became, , remains, large source of owner revenue not shared players. 1970 through 1977, nfl season consisted of 14 regular season games , 6 exhibition games, not 3 @ home , 3 away (the 1973 washington redskins, instance, played 5 out of 6 preseason games @ home), played @ neutral sites. since 1978, regular season 16 games, , exhibition season cut 6 4 games. 2 teams play 5 exhibition games, however.

from 1999 2001, when league consisted of uneven 31 teams, additional exhibition games (usually 2 or 3) played on hall of fame weekend. in order account uneven number of teams, each team required have bye week during exhibition season. teams held bye week in hall of fame weekend, while others utilized them somewhere else during exhibition season. practice abandoned after houston texans added league in 2002, giving 32 teams.

the exhibition games not count toward statistics, streaks, season standings or records whatsoever. instance, 4 wins incurred 2017 cleveland browns in exhibition season did not count against them when went on become first team lose of regular-season games since 1976, , 1972 dolphins, despite losing 3 exhibition games, still considered have played perfect season. similarly, ola kimrin s 65-yard field goal in exhibition game not considered league record, despite being longer 64 yard mark set matt prater in regular season (in 2013).

still, professional football popular enough many fans still pay full price exhibition game tickets, must purchase in order keep regular-season seats. many teams sold out on season ticket basis , have large waiting lists, fans required pay one-time or annual fee privilege of remaining on waiting list. minority of teams offer promotions , discounts fill stands exhibition games; example of buffalo bills annual kids day promotion, tickets, lowest priced in league, slashed bargain-basement prices (around $10) children under 12.

international , neutral-site games

prior commencement of nfl international series, nfl had featured exhibition game called american bowl. matchup exhibition game 2 teams involved , played on same weekend hall of fame game. played outside united states, in mexico or japan; in latter case, involved games started @ 5:00 a.m. u.s. eastern time. american bowl held 1986 2005; similar international matches had occurred regularly since 1969.

in addition, teams played home games @ stadiums on fringes of markets or in markets not served nfl teams. alamodome in san antonio hosted games in fashion, did rogers centre (as part of bills toronto series), camp randall stadium, on-campus home of wisconsin badgers football in madison, wisconsin, hosting 1 preseason green bay packers game per year until late 90s. citrus bowl common venue games. carrier dome in syracuse, new york has been mentioned potential site such game, host team not yet mentioned.

television , radio

while selected preseason games televised nationally nfl s main broadcast partners, majority of them in-house productions of individual teams, in association local television broadcaster or regional sports network (such root sports northwest seattle seahawks, comcast sportsnet mid-atlantic washington redskins, msg western new york buffalo bills , fox sports detroit detroit lions). if team s flagship station affiliated or owned cbs or nbc, rightsholders may subcontract network s respective sports department, such cbs sports (in case of atlanta falcons, flagship cbs-owned cw affiliate wupa) or nbc sports (in case of new york giants provide resources such camera crews , graphics, or produce entire broadcast, giving networks own ability evaluate production teams , chemistry of network announcing teams before season starts.

preseason broadcasts typically syndicated network of stations within team s market region, typically includes package of team-produced programming throughout season (such analysis , coach s shows), local rights games broadcast on cable, , right brand official station of team in market.

exhibition games exclusively played @ night due hot summer weather, , scheduled based on local convenience (e.g. games on west coast tend start @ 7:00 p.m. pt/10:00 p.m. et). when applicable, nfl s blackout restrictions apply, although stations allowed play game on tape delay if game not sell out (unlike regular season policy, when rights revert nfl films). however, blackout restrictions have never been applied since 2015 result of passed vote during league s owners meeting in march in league, experiment because no regular season games in 2014 season blacked out , fcc vote in september 2014 no longer enforce blackouts, eliminated blackout rules @ least last 2 seasons. many more exhibition games fail sell out regular-season games.

the hall of fame game carried nbc edition of sunday night football, , on radio westwood one, alternating carriers such espn , nfl network in summer olympics years, not allowed pre-emption of form nbc (locally produced games airing on nbc affiliates must re-located other stations due same policy). beginning in 2015, compass media networks carries select preseason contests involving oakland raiders , dallas cowboys nationwide. games carried teams local radio networks, affiliate count reduced due conflicts baseball , other local sports.

matchups

unlike regular season, exhibition matchups not based on rotating or set formula.

the nfl schedules matchups of exhibition games. since 2002, individual teams have been allowed negotiate own deals play each other during preseason. league allows individual teams provide input desired matchups , determines matchups games not individually negotiated; however, league sets game dates , times. exhibition season schedule released in spring, shortly before regular season schedule announced. nfl has set loose precedent of determining exhibition matchups:

no 2 teams face each other in same exhibition season more once. (see below)
no nfl team play team outside league. (see below)
teams in same division not play 1 during exhibition season. (see below) – (exceptions: atlanta falcons vs. los angeles rams in 1991, minnesota vikings vs. chicago bears in 1988)
the league shies away teams playing in exhibition season if scheduled play in regular season. however, not avoidable.
interconference game (afc vs. nfc) matchups common , encouraged, since regular season matchups between interconference teams infrequent (teams play other-conference teams once every 4 years during regular season). these games allow teams travel particular markets more normal, , represent fresh matchups.
geographically close matchups preferred, provide teams minimal (if possible) exhibition season travel. such, intrastate rivals frequent matchups, provided not division foes (giants/jets, ravens/redskins, eagles/steelers, 49ers/raiders, bucs/dolphins/jaguars, , chargers/rams, frequent exhibition matchups). broncos , cardinals, 2 teams in mountain time zone, play every preseason (though due arizona non observance of daylight saving time, denver 1 hour ahead of arizona during nfl preseason, occurs in august).
teams close personal ties play each other. steelers , panthers, since 1995, close out preseason despite 450-mile distance between pittsburgh , charlotte. there numerous pittsburgh-area ties panthers organisation, including former head coach john fox (a former assistant @ pitt , steelers), ex-steeler linebackers greg lloyd , kevin greene finishing out careers @ carolina, , former steelers safety donnie shell having served panthers director of player development since team s inception. on flip side, former steelers head coach bill cowher attended n.c. state , lives in raleigh. former steelers players willie parker , jeff reed both attended unc. reflects on increasing number of western pennsylvania natives in relocating carolinas. similarly, buffalo bills , detroit lions play each other annually in preseason, since late bills owner ralph wilson native of detroit , @ 1 point owned share of lions. in addition, both buffalo , detroit nfl cities border canada, each city located on opposite sides of southern ontario.
along general in-state rivalries, long-established governor s cups played annually.

texas – dallas vs. houston (formerly cowboys vs. houston oilers 1967–96)
missouri – kansas city vs. st. louis (currently suspended due lack of team in st. louis; formerly chiefs vs. cardinals 1970–87 , chiefs vs. rams 1995–2015)


after division realignment in 2002, nfl factors in former division rivalries broken due teams moving different divisions. five-year period 2002–2006, league had authority schedule former division rivals exhibition games (the cardinals , seattle seahawks, switched nfc east , afc west, respectively, nfc west, notable examples). move intended recover potentially lost revenue due end of popular annual rivalry game. in rare cases, league has scheduled hot regular-season matchups if did not happen scheduled play season. instance, tampa bay , st. louis had popular mini-rivalry 1999 2004. teams not scheduled play 1 in 2003, league reacted scheduling monday night preseason game them season.

the teams play in pro football hall of fame game determined solely league (and hall of fame committee), featuring 1 afc team , 1 nfc team. matchup announced in advance, around time of super bowl, when hall of fame inductees announced. under circumstances, matchup planned future. example, buccaneers played steelers in 1998 hall of fame game, matchup had been announced in 1983. in recent times, if there has been expansion team added league, team invited play in hall of fame game (carolina, jacksonville, new cleveland browns, , houston played in expansion seasons in 1995, 1995, 1999, , 2002 respectively). 2009 game, however, between 2 original american football league teams: buffalo bills , tennessee titans (formerly houston oilers). matchup announced after ralph c. wilson, jr. afl founder , owner ever of bills, inducted pro football hall of fame on february 1, 2009. titans owner, bud adams, owner team has ever had. wilson , adams 2 last surviving members of original afl ownership cabal , 2 of 3 men have majority-owned professional football franchise continuously fifty years (the late george halas, owned chicago bears 1920 1983, third). hall of fame game served kickoff 2009 season, have been 50th season of play afl had survived independent entity.

prior 1970 afl–nfl merger common teams play each other twice in same pre-season. among recent occurrences in 1992 when dallas cowboys , houston oilers played on august 1 in tokyo, again on august 15, in dallas, , in more recent season, buccaneers , dolphins played each other twice in 1 preseason. day, although multiple preseason games against same 2 teams no longer common, 2 teams may hold joint practice , scrimmage in addition preseason contest (see, example, buffalo bills , pittsburgh steelers in 2014).

it commonplace division opponents play each other in preseason, due larger size of pre-merger divisions, no longer allowed. recent 1984, cleveland browns , pittsburgh steelers played preseason game despite 2 being bitter rivals. last such occurrence in 1999 season when san diego chargers played division rivals denver broncos , kansas city chiefs in preseason.

non-league opponents

the college all-star game, first game of preseason, played annually in chicago 1934 1976, , featured nfl or world champion against all-rookie team of college all-stars. during earlier years of competition, numerous other regional all-star games of sort existed. after games became lopsided in favor of nfl, abandoned. between 1950 , 1961, nfl attempted exhibition matches against canadian football league (mixing nfl , cfl rules); these, too, abandoned after 1961 preseason, after nfl won 6 matchups (the cfl won game against american opposition in august 1961, against american football league team; result of embarrassment, afl opted not play cfl again beyond 1 game).

also, 1967 1969, during transition period leading formal afl–nfl merger, nfl , american football league played each other in series of exhibition matches; notably, 1969 match between buffalo bills , washington redskins time vince lombardi ever lost afl team. 1968 games played under experimental rule eliminated point kicks , required play scrimmage score 1 point (a rule later implemented world football league in 1974 , xfl in 2001).

games against non-league opponents still played, nfl teams sending rookie split squad game. atlanta falcons rookies defeated alabama hawks of continental football league 55–0 in 1969 contest. in 1972, new york jets rookies defeated long island chiefs of then-second-tier seaboard football league 29–3 in believed last contest between nfl team , 1 outside league date.

since 1977, no nfl team has ever faced team outside league; in contrast current practice in mls, nba, nhl , recent practice in baseball, in teams can play exhibition games against non-league teams. unlike latter leagues near-even parity of talent can exist foreign or minor league teams, nfl stunted fact de facto second tier of american football, college football disallowed ncaa scheduling teams play against nfl teams, , difference in talent between nfl , foreign and/or non-league professional teams large assure competitive contests. likewise, differing rule sets , venues between nfl, cfl , arena football league complicates real competitive attempt @ exhibition game between organizations (nfl-cfl interleague competitions have been attempted in past). in years when there has been second-tier or competing professional leagues playing standard 11-man rules, nfl has opted not play exhibition games; xfl, usfl, ufl , fxfl never played against nfl in short lifetimes, lest league risk injuring star talent or giving potential threats monopoly on american professional football credibility (as is, fxfl relies on nfl preseason cuts of rosters).

schedule

the exhibition season typically begins first weekend of august hall of fame game; though in years can on second weekend. previous seasons have seen american bowl game held last weekend of july. first full schedule of exhibition games held following weekend. games held on thursday, friday, or saturday nights, 1 nationally televised game each night of week: nfl network airs thursday game, cbs , fox friday , saturday night game each, nbc sunday night games, , espn monday night game. unlike regular season, cbs s , fox s national exhibition game opponents selected regardless of conference. 4 full weekends of games held. fourth , final full week of exhibition games (fifth weekend overall) has teams playing exclusively on thursday night (plus friday, if any), no national games. allows teams few days prepare first week of regular season. prevents conflict start of regular seasons high school , college football, allowing venues expand first weekends games thursday through monday (labor day).

there conflict major league baseball season, situation seen in 2015 preseason when pittsburgh steelers moved sunday evening game against green bay packers @ heinz field traditional 1 p.m. kickoff avoid parking conflicts pittsburgh pirates across shared lot @ pnc park, when pirates had game moved sunday evening part of espn s sunday night baseball.

nationally televised exhibition games start @ 8:00 pm eastern time, while regionally televised games start @ 7:00 pm local time. select game nights feature rotating coverage nfl redzone channel.

on various occasions, severe weather or other factors, have postponed or outright canceled preseason games. due exhibition nature, suspended or canceled preseason games not made up. in 2004, hurricane charley postponed tampa bay game against cincinnati saturday until monday. in 2001, preseason game between philadelphia , baltimore canceled due turf problems @ veterans stadium. similar turf concerns prompted league cancel 2016 hall of fame game @ last minute. 2017 cowboys-texans preseason game, scheduled houston, @ first switched arlington due flooding spawned hurricane harvey in southeast texas. day prior scheduled game, cancelled allow texans, departed houston previous friday play @ new orleans , diverted dallas/fort worth after game vs. saints, return houston.

controversy

currently, every nfl team requires season ticket holders purchase tickets @ full price 2 exhibition games requirement purchase regular-season tickets. complaints regarding policy have gone way u.s. supreme court, have failed change policy. judgment in 1974 stated: no fewer 5 lawsuits have been instituted dallas new england, each claiming respective national football league (nfl) team had violated sherman act requiring individual wishes purchase season ticket regular season games buy, in addition, tickets 1 or more exhibition or preseason games.

additionally, players, coaches, , journalists, , numerous fans, object 4-week exhibition schedule. players have little monetary incentive play in exhibitions, since paid training-camp per diem these games. salaries not begin until regular season, , playing in exhibitions free . regardless of these objections, owners continue endorse four-game exhibition season. games easy source of revenue, , unlikely dispensed within foreseeable future.

proposed reductions

in 2008, nfl commissioner roger goodell raised possibility of shortening exhibition season, in favor of lengthening regular season. there possibility 2012, league switch 2 primary exhibition games (down 4) , 18-game regular season (up 16). reasons cited solutions future labor concerns revenue, , overall dissatisfaction exhibitions among players , fans. also, since nfl considered competitive year-round business, veteran players train , condition year round, , not need extensive exhibition season playing shape after previous regular season. proposal rejected in negotiations league s collective bargaining agreement, due objections , concerns on fatigue , injuries raised national football league players association.

another proposal said gaining growing sentiment among nfl owners of 2016 proposal eliminate last preseason game , give league-wide bye week leading regular season.