Regular season | |
---|---|
Duration | September 7, 2023 – January 7, 2024 |
Playoffs | |
Start date | January 13, 2024 |
AFC Champions | Kansas City Chiefs |
NFC Champions | San Francisco 49ers |
Super Bowl LVIII | |
Date | February 11, 2024 |
Site | Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada |
Champions | Kansas City Chiefs |
Pro Bowl | |
Date | February 4, 2024 |
Site | Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida |
The 2023 NFL season was the 104th season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season began on September 7, 2023, with defending Super Bowl LVII champion Kansas City losing to Detroit in the NFL Kickoff Game, and ended on January 7, 2024.
The playoffs started on January 13 and concluded with Super Bowl LVIII, the league's championship game, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on February 11, 2024. Kansas City defeated San Francisco to become the first team since the 2004 New England Patriots to successfully repeat as Super Bowl champions.
This was the first season since 1935 in which every team in a division (in this case the AFC North) finished with a winning record.
The 2023 NFL league year and trading period began on March 15. On March 13, teams were allowed to exercise options for 2023 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 2022 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 15, clubs were allowed to contact and begin contract negotiations with players whose contracts had expired and thus became unrestricted free agents.
C | Center | CB | Cornerback | DB | Defensive back | DE | Defensive end [a] | |||
DL | Defensive lineman | DT | Defensive tackle | FB | Fullback | FS | Free safety | |||
G | Guard [b] | K | Kicker [c] | KR | Kickoff returner | LB | Linebacker | |||
LS | Long snapper | MLB | Middle linebacker [d] | OT | Offensive tackle | OL | Offensive lineman | |||
OLB | Outside linebacker [a] | 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 15. [1] Notable players to change teams included:
The following notable trades were made during the 2023 league year:
Notable retirements
Other retirements
The 2023 NFL draft was held outside Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29. [68] Chicago, by virtue of having the worst record in 2022, was awarded the first overall selection. However, it was traded to Carolina, who selected quarterback Bryce Young out of Alabama.
The following rule changes for the 2023 season were approved at the NFL Owners' Meeting on March 28: [78] [79] [80]
During the May Owners Meeting, the following bylaw and rule changes was made: [81]
The majority of training camps opened on July 26. The preseason began on August 3 with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, in which Cleveland (represented in the Hall of Fame Class of 2023 by Joe Thomas) defeated the New York Jets (represented by Joe Klecko and Darrelle Revis). [82]
The season was played over an 18-week schedule beginning on September 7. Each of the league's 32 teams played 17 games, with one bye week for each team. The regular season ended on January 7, 2024; all games during the final weekend were intra-division games, as it has been since 2010.
Each team played 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. [83]
The division pairings for 2023 were as follows: [83]
Four intra-conference games AFC East vs AFC West AFC North vs AFC South NFC East vs NFC West NFC North vs NFC South | Four interconference games | Interconference game by 2022 position |
Highlights of the 2023 season included: [84] [85]
As part of new media agreements that were signed by the networks in 2021, the league's flexible scheduling system expanded this season to include Monday Night Football games, and increased the number of cross-flexing (switching) of Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox. [101] [102] [103] [104] In May 2023, league owners passed flex scheduling rules for Thursday Night Football as well, only as a trial basis for this season. However, with no games being flexed in 2023, this rule will carry over to 2024. [105]
In 2023, any Monday Night Football game was allowed to be flexed between weeks 12 and 17, provided that the league announced its rescheduling no later than 12 days before the contests. For Sunday Night Football , no more than three games could be flexed between weeks 5 and 14, while any game between weeks 15 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. [106] [107] For Thursday Night Football, only two games could be flexed between weeks 13 and 17, teams were not allowed play two away TNF games during season, the same team could not be flexed into TNF both times, and the league was required to give a 28-day notice. [105]
CBS and Fox were 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 number 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. [102] [108] After the season started, the two networks were allowed to protect one game each week from getting flexed. [103]
Week 6:
Week 13:
Week 15:
Week 18:
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The 2023 playoffs began with the wild-card round, with three wild-card games played in each conference. Wild Card Weekend was played on January 13–15, 2024. In the Divisional round on January 20–21, the top seed in the conference played the lowest remaining seed and the other two remaining teams played each other. The winners of those games advanced to the Conference Championship games played on January 28. Super Bowl LVIII was played on February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.
Jan 15 – Raymond James Stadium | Jan 21 – Ford Field | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Philadelphia | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Tampa Bay | 32 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Tampa Bay | 23 | ||||||||||||||||
Jan 28 – Levi's Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
Jan 14 – Ford Field | 3 | Detroit | 31 | |||||||||||||||
NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
6 | LA Rams | 23 | 3 | Detroit | 31 | |||||||||||||
Jan 20 – Levi's Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Detroit | 24 | 1 | San Francisco | 34 | |||||||||||||
NFC Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
Jan 14 – AT&T Stadium | 7 | Green Bay | 21 | |||||||||||||||
1 | San Francisco | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
7 | Green Bay | 48 | ||||||||||||||||
Divisional playoffs | Feb 11 – Allegiant Stadium | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Dallas | 32 | ||||||||||||||||
Wild Card playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
N1 | San Francisco | 22 | ||||||||||||||||
Jan 13 – Arrowhead Stadium | Jan 21 – Highmark Stadium | A3 | Kansas City | 25* | ||||||||||||||
Super Bowl LVIII | ||||||||||||||||||
6 | Miami | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Kansas City | 26 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Kansas City | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
Jan 28 – M&T Bank Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
Jan 15 – Highmark Stadium | 2 | Buffalo | 24 | |||||||||||||||
AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
7 | Pittsburgh | 17 | 3 | Kansas City | 17 | |||||||||||||
Jan 20 – M&T Bank Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
2 | Buffalo | 31 | 1 | Baltimore | 10 | |||||||||||||
AFC Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
Jan 13 – NRG Stadium | 4 | Houston | 10 | |||||||||||||||
1 | Baltimore | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Cleveland | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Houston | 45 | ||||||||||||||||
* Indicates overtime victory
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 7
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Wild Card Round
Divisional Round
Conference Championships
Super Bowl LVIII
Individual [185] | |||
Scoring leader | Brandon Aubrey | Dallas | 157 |
Most field goals made | 36 | ||
Touchdowns | Raheem Mostert | Miami | 21 |
Christian McCaffrey | San Francisco | ||
21 | |||
Rushing yards | 1459 | ||
Passing yards | Tua Tagovailoa | Miami | 4624 |
Passing touchdowns | Dak Prescott | Dallas | 36 |
Interceptions thrown | Sam Howell | Washington | 21 |
Passer rating | Brock Purdy | San Francisco | 113.0 |
Pass receptions | CeeDee Lamb | Dallas | 135 |
Pass receiving yards | Tyreek Hill | Miami | 1799 |
Combined tackles | Bobby Wagner | Seattle | 183 |
Interceptions | DaRon Bland | Dallas | 9 |
Punting | Thomas Morstead | New York Jets | 4831; avg 48.8 |
Sacks | T. J. Watt | Pittsburgh | 19.0 |
The 13th Annual NFL Honors, saluting the best players and plays from the 2023 season, was held on February 8, 2024, at Resorts World Theatre, Las Vegas, Nevada.
The following players were named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press: [186]
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Special teams | |||||
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K | Brandon Aubrey (DAL) | ||||
P | A. J. Cole III (LV) | ||||
KR | Keisean Nixon (GB) | ||||
PR | Rashid Shaheed (NO) | ||||
ST | Miles Killebrew (PIT) | ||||
LS | Ross Matiscik (JAX) |
The following were named the top performers during the 2023 season:
Week/ Month | Offensive Player of the Week/Month | Defensive Player of the Week/Month | Special Teams Player of the Week/Month | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AFC | NFC | AFC | NFC | AFC | NFC | |
1 [187] | Tua Tagovailoa QB (Miami) | Brandon Aiyuk WR (San Francisco) | Jordan Whitehead S (New York Jets) | Jessie Bates S (Atlanta) | Xavier Gipson WR (New York Jets) | Jake Elliott K (Philadelphia) |
2 [188] | Josh Allen QB (Buffalo) | D'Andre Swift RB (Philadelphia) | Alex Highsmith LB (Pittsburgh) | Micah Parsons LB (Dallas) | Nick Folk K (Tennessee) | Jake Camarda P (Tampa Bay) |
3 [189] | De'Von Achane RB (Miami) | Kenneth Walker III RB (Seattle) | Terrel Bernard LB (Buffalo) | Aidan Hutchinson DE (Detroit) | Matt Gay K (Indianapolis) | Matt Prater K (Arizona) |
Sept. [190] | Tua Tagovailoa QB (Miami) | Christian McCaffrey RB (San Francisco) | T. J. Watt LB (Pittsburgh) | Micah Parsons LB (Dallas) | Tyler Bass K (Buffalo) | Jake Camarda P (Tampa Bay) |
4 [191] | Josh Allen QB (Buffalo) | Christian McCaffrey RB (San Francisco) | Khalil Mack OLB (Los Angeles Chargers) | Devon Witherspoon CB (Seattle) | Brandon McManus K (Jacksonville) | Jake Elliott K (Philadelphia) |
5 [192] | Ja'Marr Chase WR (Cincinnati) | D. J. Moore WR (Chicago) | Maxx Crosby DE (Las Vegas) | Fred Warner MLB (San Francisco) | Greg Zuerlein K (New York Jets) | Blake Grupe K (New Orleans) |
6 [193] | Raheem Mostert RB (Miami) | Jared Goff QB (Detroit) | Blake Cashman LB (Houston) | Jordan Hicks LB (Minnesota) | Dustin Hopkins K (Cleveland) | Jamison Crowder WR (Washington) |
7 [194] | Lamar Jackson QB (Baltimore) | A. J. Brown WR (Philadelphia) | Myles Garrett DE (Cleveland) | Camryn Bynum S (Minnesota) | Dustin Hopkins K (Cleveland) | Younghoe Koo K (Atlanta) |
8 [195] | Joe Burrow QB (Cincinnati) | Jalen Hurts QB (Philadelphia) | Justin Simmons S (Denver) | Frankie Luvu LB (Carolina) | Thomas Morstead P (New York Jets) | Brandon Aubrey K (Dallas) |
Oct. [196] | Tyreek Hill WR (Miami) | A. J. Brown WR (Philadelphia) | Quincy Williams LB (New York Jets) | Danielle Hunter LB (Minnesota) | Brandon McManus K (Jacksonville) | Brandon Aubrey K (Dallas) |
9 [197] | C. J. Stroud QB (Houston) | Joshua Dobbs QB (Minnesota) | Kenny Moore II CB (Indianapolis) | Paulson Adebo CB (New Orleans) | Derius Davis WR (Los Angeles Chargers) | Tress Way P (Washington) |
10 [198] | Devin Singletary RB (Houston) | CeeDee Lamb WR (Dallas) | Robert Spillane LB (Las Vegas) | Nick Bosa DL (San Francisco) | Marvin Mims WR (Denver) | Jason Myers K (Seattle) |
11 [199] | Trevor Lawrence QB (Jacksonville) | Brock Purdy QB (San Francisco) | Jalen Ramsey CB (Miami) | DaRon Bland CB (Dallas) | Reggie Gilliam FB (Buffalo) | Ethan Evans P (Los Angeles Rams) |
12 [200] | Patrick Mahomes QB (Kansas City) | Kyren Williams RB (Los Angeles Rams) | Josh Allen DE (Jacksonville) | Jessie Bates S (Atlanta) | Brandon McManus K (Jacksonville) | Jake Elliott K (Philadelphia) |
Nov. [201] | C. J. Stroud QB (Houston) | Dak Prescott QB (Dallas) | Khalil Mack LB (Los Angeles Chargers) | DaRon Bland CB (Dallas) | Wil Lutz K (Denver) | Cairo Santos K (Chicago) |
13 [202] | Jake Browning QB (Cincinnati) | Deebo Samuel WR (San Francisco) | Derek Stingley Jr. CB (Houston) | Antoine Winfield Jr. S (Tampa Bay) | J. K. Scott P (Los Angeles Chargers) | Jalen Reeves-Maybin LB (Detroit) |
14 [203] | Zach Wilson QB (New York Jets) | Tommy DeVito QB (New York Giants) | Harold Landry LB (Tennessee) | Ivan Pace Jr. LB (Minnesota) | Tylan Wallace WR (Baltimore) | Brandon Aubrey K (Dallas) |
15 [204] | James Cook RB (Buffalo) | Baker Mayfield QB (Tampa Bay) | Bradley Chubb LB (Miami) | Julian Love S (Seattle) | Kaʻimi Fairbairn K (Houston) | Eddy Piñeiro K (Carolina) |
16 [205] | Amari Cooper WR (Cleveland) | Puka Nacua WR (Los Angeles Rams) | Kyle Hamilton S (Baltimore) | Ifeatu Melifonwu S (Detroit) | Jason Sanders K (Miami) | Younghoe Koo K (Atlanta) |
17 [206] | Lamar Jackson QB (Baltimore) | Jordan Love QB (Green Bay) | Rasul Douglas CB (Buffalo) | Tyrique Stevenson CB (Chicago) | Harrison Butker K (Kansas City) | Gunner Olszewski WR (New York Giants) |
18 [207] | C. J. Stroud QB (Houston) | Jordan Love QB (Green Bay) | T. J. Watt LB (Pittsburgh) | Antoine Winfield Jr. S (Tampa Bay) | Deonte Harty WR (Buffalo) | Jamie Gillan P (New York Giants) |
Dec./Jan. [208] | Lamar Jackson QB (Baltimore) | Christian McCaffrey RB (San Francisco) | Derek Stingley Jr. CB (Houston) | Antoine Winfield Jr. S (Tampa Bay) | Sam Martin P (Buffalo) | Brandon Aubrey K (Dallas) |
|
Month | Rookie of the Month | |
---|---|---|
Offensive | Defensive | |
Sept. [190] | C. J. Stroud QB (Houston) | Christian Gonzalez CB (New England) |
Oct. [196] | Jordan Addison WR (Minnesota) | Devon Witherspoon CB (Seattle) |
Nov. [201] | C. J. Stroud QB (Houston) | Calijah Kancey DT (Tampa Bay) |
Dec./Jan. [208] | Puka Nacua WR (Los Angeles Rams) | Kobie Turner DT (Los Angeles Rams) |
After mounting pressure from other league owners to sell the franchise, Daniel Snyder hired BofA Securities in November 2022 to explore possible transactions. [211] [212] [213] He reached an agreement in May 2023 to sell the Commanders to a group headed by Josh Harris, owner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, for $6.05 billion. [214] The group has 20 limited partners worth a combined $100 billion, including Mitchell Rales and Magic Johnson. [215] [216] The sale was the highest price ever paid for a sports team and was unanimously approved by the NFL on July 20, 2023. [217] [218]
On April 21, the NFL suspended three players indefinitely (Detroit wide receiver Quintez Cephus and safety C. J. Moore, and Washington defensive end Shaka Toney), and two players for six games (Detroit wide receivers Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill) for violations of the league's gambling policy. Detroit later released Cephus and Moore. [219]
On June 29, the NFL suspended three additional players indefinitely (Indianapolis cornerback Isaiah Rodgers and linebacker Rashod Berry, and free agent defensive lineman Demetrius Taylor) for betting on league games in 2022. The league also suspended Tennessee offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere for six games for violating the league's gambling policy by betting on non-NFL sports while at team facilities. [220] On July 24, Denver defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike was suspended indefinitely for violating the policy. [221]
On September 29, the NFL revised the gambling policy. Betting on NFL games will incur a minimum ban of one year, providing inside information will incur an indefinite ban with a one-year minimum, and match fixing or attempted match fixing will result in a lifetime ban. The penalties for betting on other sports at NFL facilities were reduced to a two-game ban for first-time offenders, a six-game ban for second-time offenders, and a minimum one-year ban for further infractions. This resulted in Williams and Petit-Frere being immediately reinstated. [222]
All players suspended indefinitely are allowed to apply for reinstatement after the 2023 season.
Team | Departing coach | Interim coach | Incoming coach | Reason for leaving | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arizona Cardinals | Kliff Kingsbury | Jonathan Gannon | Fired | Kingsbury was fired on January 9, after four seasons with the Cardinals. During his tenure, the team was 28–37–1 (.432), with one playoff appearance and no playoff wins. [223] Gannon, who spent the previous two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator, was hired on February 14. This is his first head coaching position at any level. [224] | |
Carolina Panthers | Matt Rhule | Steve Wilks | Frank Reich | After a 1–4 start, Rhule was fired on October 10, 2022, after more than two seasons with the team. During his tenure, the Panthers were 11–27 (.289) with no playoff appearances. Wilks, the team's defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach, took over as interim coach. This is his second NFL head coaching position, having previously been the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for one season. [225] Reich was hired on January 26. As the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 to 2022, he compiled a record of 40–33–1 (.547), with two playoff appearances and a 1–2 (.333) playoff record. [226] | |
Denver Broncos | Nathaniel Hackett | Jerry Rosburg | Sean Payton | Hackett was fired on December 26, 2022, after a 4–11 (.267) tenure, missing the playoffs in his only partial season with the team. [227] [228] Rosburg, the team's senior assistant to the head coach, was named interim head coach. This is his first head coaching position; he previously served as the Baltimore Ravens special team coordinator for eleven seasons. [229] Payton was hired on February 3. In fifteen seasons with the New Orleans Saints, he compiled an overall record of 152–89 (.631), with nine playoff appearances, seven NFC South division titles, and a Super Bowl championship. He was the AP NFL Coach of the Year in 2006. [230] | |
Houston Texans | Lovie Smith | DeMeco Ryans | Smith was fired on January 8 after one season, compiling a record of 3–13–1 (.206) and missing the playoffs. [231] Ryans was hired on January 31. A former Texans linebacker and defensive assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers since 2017, this is his first NFL head coaching position. [232] | ||
Indianapolis Colts | Frank Reich | Jeff Saturday | Shane Steichen | Reich was fired on November 7, 2022, after starting the season 3–5–1 (.389). In 5+ seasons with the Colts, Reich was 40–33–1 (.547), with 2 playoff appearances and a playoff record of 1–2 (.333). [233] Saturday, a 6-time Pro Bowler who played thirteen seasons as a center in the NFL (twelve of them for the Colts), and consultant for the team, was named interim head coach. His only previous coaching experience at any level was for Hebron Christian Academy in Dacula, Georgia. [234] Steichen, who spent the previous two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, was hired on February 14. This is his first head coaching position at any level. [235] |
Team | Departing coach | Reason for leaving | Interim replacement | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Las Vegas Raiders | Josh McDaniels | Fired | Antonio Pierce | After a 3–5 (.375) start, McDaniels was fired on October 31 after one and a half seasons with the team. During his tenure, the Raiders were 9–16 (.360) with no playoff appearances. [236] Pierce, the team's linebackers coach, was promoted to interim head coach. This is his first head coaching position. [237] |
Carolina Panthers | Frank Reich | Chris Tabor | On November 27, Reich was fired after 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 is his first experience as head coach. [238] | |
Los Angeles Chargers | Brandon Staley | Giff Smith | 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 a playoff record of 0–1 (.000). [239] Smith, the team's outside linebackers coach, was elevated as interim head coach. This is his first head coaching position. [240] |
Team | Position | Departing office holder | Reason for leaving | Interim replacement | Incoming office holder | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arizona Cardinals | General manager | Steve Keim | Resigned | — | Monti Ossenfort | Keim stepped down on January 9 for health-related reasons. He had served as the Cardinals' GM for 10 seasons. [223] Ossenfort was hired on January 16. He was previously the Tennessee Titans' director of player personnel from 2020 to 2022. [241] |
Chicago Bears | President | Ted Phillips | Retired | Kevin Warren | Phillips retired after the 2022 season, after 24 seasons as the Bears' president. [242] Warren was hired on January 12. He was previously the Big Ten Commissioner from 2020 to 2023. [243] | |
Tennessee Titans | General manager | Jon Robinson | Fired | Ryan Cowden | Ran Carthon | Robinson was fired on December 6, 2022, after more than six seasons as the Titans' GM, despite a relatively successful tenure with the Titans, including two AFC South titles, four playoff appearances, and an AFC Championship appearance in 2019. Cowden, the team's vice president of player personnel, served as interim GM for the rest of the season. [244] Carthon was hired on January 18. He had been in management positions with several teams since 2008, after playing two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts from 2004 to 2006. His most recent position was as the San Francisco 49ers' director of pro/player personnel since 2017. [245] |
Team | Position | Departing office holder | Reason for leaving | Interim replacement | Notes |
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Las Vegas Raiders | General manager | Dave Ziegler | Fired | Champ Kelly | After a 3–5 start, Ziegler was fired on October 31 after one and a half seasons with the team. During his tenure, the Raiders were 9–16 (.360) with no playoff appearances. [236] Kelly, the team's assistant general manager, would serve as interim GM for the rest of the season. [246] |
Los Angeles Chargers | Tom Telesco | Telesco was fired on December 15 after ten seasons with the team. [239] Wooden, the team's director of player personnel, would serve as interim GM for the rest of the season. [240] |
Several NFL teams switched to using Nike's new Vapor F.U.S.E. uniform template, this after Seattle had a brief trial run during the 2020 season. [250] [251]
This was the first season under 11-year U.S. media rights agreements with CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN/ABC, and NFL Network renewing their existing regular season AFC, NFC, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and NFL Network Exclusive Game Series packages, respectively, through the 2033 season. The contracts keep CBS, NBC, and ESPN's digital rights to stream their respective live games on their respective paid over-the-top subscription streaming platforms, Paramount+, Peacock, and ESPN+ (Fox does not have a dedicated paid streaming platform). Fox, NBC, and ESPN may continue to offer Spanish-language versions of their games on their respective Spanish-language outlets Fox Deportes, Telemundo Deportes, and ESPN Deportes (CBS does not have a specific platform for Spanish-language sports content, although it may continue to sub-license Spanish-language rights of its Super Bowl coverage). [303] Changes beginning this regular season include the following: [304] [101] [305] [306]
NFL Network continued to televise select regular season games, including four International Series games [89] [311] and four late-season games. [312] [313]
The 2023 season was the second season of scheduling three games on Christmas Day, consisting of an afternoon doubleheader split between CBS and Fox, and that week's Monday Night Football contest, which exclusively aired on ABC due to ESPN's coverage of NBA Christmas games; [100] [314] with 27.2 million viewers, it was the second-highest rated Monday Night Football regular season broadcast since 1996. [315] CBS' game also featured a youth-oriented broadcast on sister network Nickelodeon for the second consecutive year. With New Year's Day falling on a Monday this season, the Monday Night Football game that weekend was played on Saturday, December 30, in deference to the New Year's Day college football bowl games. [100] [314]
Originally, ABC was scheduled to air nine total games during the 2023 season, including 3 ESPN/ABC MNF simulcasts, the 3 total exclusive games during those weeks featuring MNF contests split between ABC and ESPN, the aforementioned Christmas night game, and the Week 18 doubleheader ESPN/ABC simulcast. On September 18, as part of schedule changes relating to the then-ongoing 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, ESPN announced that 10 MNF games that were originally going to be exclusive to ESPN would also be simulcast by ABC. This marked the first time since 2005 that ABC aired a full season of MNF. [316]
This is the second season of a 12-year deal with Amazon Prime Video and Twitch to exclusively stream Thursday Night Football. [312] [317] [318] For 2023, flex scheduling has also been expanded to Thursday Night Football on a one-year trial. [105] In addition, Thursday Night Football added a late-afternoon game on the Friday after Thanksgiving; unlike the other TNF games, whose free broadcasts are exclusive to sister live streaming platform Twitch, this game was also carried for free within the main Amazon Prime Video platform. The games were also available to business establishments via DirecTV. [90] [319] [320] [321]
This was the second season of a 12-year deal that ESPN+ exclusively streamed one game. The game was also available to business establishments on the ESPN+ for Business pacakge on DirecTV. [322] [323] [324] The game featured a youth-oriented alternate broadcast on ESPN+ and Disney+, using the league's player tracking data to render a live animated version of the game portrayed by characters from the Toy Story franchise. [325]
The league's streaming service NFL+ adds live access to NFL Network on its base tier and NFL RedZone on its premium tier. The service continued to live stream in-market regular season and postseason games on mobile devices only, radio broadcasts for all games, and most out-of-market preseason games on its base tier; and replays of all games and coaches film on its premium tier. [326] [327]
Three of the Wild Card games were aired by NBC, holding rights to the Saturday afternoon game under its annual rotation with CBS and Fox since 2020, the Sunday night game under the third year of a separate seven-year deal, and the Saturday night game—which will be streamed exclusively by Peacock under a one-year, $110 million deal. Peacock's game was sold on a stand-alone basis, as the league separated it from the broader TV rights deals. [328] [329] [330] This marked the first time that an NFL playoff game is exclusively carried nationally by a streaming platform. [331] [332] [333] ESPN/ABC entered its third year of their five-year deal for the Monday night Wild Card game, [305] [306] [334] and the remaining two Sunday afternoon games were carried by CBS and Fox. [305] [306] [309] [335]
The four broadcast television partners will now each air one divisional playoff game per season. ESPN/ABC takes over the slot that was previously rotated between CBS and Fox. [305] [336]
CBS will televise Super Bowl LVIII; in the annual rotation of Super Bowl broadcasters, they will be followed by Fox, NBC, and ESPN/ABC—who returns to the Super Bowl rotation for the first time since Super Bowl XL. [305] [303] In May 2023, CBS announced that it had sub-licensed the Spanish-language rights for Super Bowl LVIII to TelevisaUnivision, replacing ESPN Deportes, who held the agreement for the three previous Super Bowl games aired by CBS. [303] For the first time, an alternate broadcast will also be produced for the Super Bowl, with CBS planning to produce a youth-oriented broadcast for Nickelodeon. [337]
For residential customers in the United States, this is the first season out of a seven-year deal that the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market sports package will exclusively be on YouTube TV, as well as on YouTube's Primetime Channels service as a standalone subscription option. [338] DirecTV declined to renew its exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, which it held since the package's debut in 1994. [339] [340] YouTube TV will stream NFL RedZone instead of producing a separate version like DirectTV did. [341]
On March 28, 2023, the NFL announced that the commercial rights to Sunday Ticket would be held by EverPass Media, a new company funded by RedBird Capital and the NFL's venture capital arm 32 Equity. EverPass distributes NFL Sunday Ticket to bars, restaurants, and other commercial venues via non-exclusive agreements with existing cable and satellite providers. [342] EverPass reached its first agreement with DirecTV on May 25, 2023. [343]
This is the second season of the NFL's current radio contract with Westwood One, including rights to all primetime, marquee, and playoff games, along with audio coverage of other events such as the NFL draft and NFL Honors. [344]
Compass Media, ESPN Radio, and Sports USA continued to broadcast select Sunday afternoon games nationally on radio.
Greg Gumbel retired from working NFL games on CBS after the 2022 season. [345] CBS replaced Gumbel on its roster of announcing teams with Chris Lewis, who was assigned to the number 7 broadcasting team with Jason McCourty and Ross Tucker. Other changes include Andrew Catalon being promoted to the number 4 team to replace Gumbel, joined by Atlanta Falcons legend Matt Ryan and Tiki Barber, Spero Dedes reuniting with Adam Archuleta on the number 5 team, and Tom McCarthy moving to the number 6 team with James Lofton and Jay Feely. Recently retired defensive end J. J. Watt joined The NFL Today studio team for select appearances. [346]
ESPN replaced Steve Levy with Chris Fowler on the number 2 team with Dan Orlovsky, Louis Riddick and Laura Rutledge during Monday Night Football doubleheaders and ESPN+ exclusive international games. [347] Scott Van Pelt replaced Suzy Kolber as host of Monday Night Countdown , where Steve Young and Booger McFarland were replaced by NFL Live's Marcus Spears and Ryan Clark. [348]
Al Michaels was replaced by Noah Eagle as the secondary play-by-play man for Sunday Night Football. 2023 marks the first time that Michaels did not call a single NFL game for NBC since it picked up the SNF package in 2006. [349]
All times Eastern.
On February 7, 2023, the NFL announced a new deal with DAZN to become the worldwide rightsholder of its NFL Game Pass streaming service outside of the U.S. and China. DAZN had already held the rights to Game Pass and Sunday Ticket in Canada. [351]
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports continued to broadcast two selected non-national games live every Sunday, one early and one late window game respectively. The Sky Sports Mix channel continued to air a live simulcast of NFL Network's NFL RedZone whip-around show. Sky Sports also continued to broadcast every Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football (including doubleheaders) and Thursday Night Football game live.
Nearly into the end of the regular season, Taiwan's ELTA Sports has become exclusive home for NFL through both OTT & Chunghwa Telecom MOD platform. Their coverage was available in Chinese commentary in addition to English via SAP. [352]
John Matthew Stafford is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected first overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL draft. Ranking in the top 12 of all time in pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns, Stafford is currently fifth all-time in passing yards per game and is the fastest player in NFL history to have reached 40,000 career passing yards.
Jared Thomas Goff is an American professional football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, where he set Pac-12 Conference season records for passing yards and passing touchdowns, and was selected first overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2016 NFL draft. Goff had a breakout season in 2017 when he helped lead the Rams to their first playoff appearance since 2004. The following year, Goff led the Rams to Super Bowl LIII. He also received Pro Bowl honors in both seasons.
James Richard Garoppolo, nicknamed "Jimmy G", is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panthers, setting school records for career passing yards and passing touchdowns and winning the Walter Payton Award as a senior. Garoppolo was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft by the New England Patriots, where he spent his first four seasons as Tom Brady's backup and was a member of two Super Bowl-winning teams.
Rayne Dakota Prescott is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, twice earning first-team All-SEC honors, and was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft. Prescott ranks sixth all-time in completion percentage with at least 1,500 pass attempts, and is ninth in the NFL's all-time regular season career passer rating.
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Kyler Cole Murray is an American professional football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following one season of college football with the Texas A&M Aggies, Murray played for the Oklahoma Sooners, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a junior. Murray was selected first overall by the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL draft. He was also selected ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 2018 draft, making him the first player to be drafted in the first round of both sports.
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II is an American professional football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Mahomes has led the Chiefs to six consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances and four Super Bowl appearances since becoming the team's starting quarterback in 2018. He is one of five quarterbacks in NFL history to win three or more Super Bowls as a starter. Mahomes's career accolades through seven seasons in the NFL have earned him widespread praise from sports journalists, and he is considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. is an American professional football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2016, and was selected by the Ravens with the final pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. Intended to serve as a backup in his rookie season, Jackson became the Ravens' starting quarterback after an injury to the incumbent Joe Flacco. He went on to clinch a division title with the team and became the youngest NFL quarterback to start a playoff game at age 21.
Jalen Alexander Hurts is an American professional football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career with the Alabama Crimson Tide, leading the team to consecutive College Football Playoff National Championship appearances in 2016 and 2017. After being benched for Tua Tagovailoa during Alabama's victory in the latter championship, Hurts spent one season as a backup in 2018. He played his final season with the Oklahoma Sooners, leading them to an appearance in the 2019–20 College Football Playoff.
Justin Patrick Herbert is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, where he won the 2019 Pac-12 Championship, and was selected by the Chargers as the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
Joshua Patrick Allen is an American professional football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys and was selected seventh overall by the Bills in the 2018 NFL draft.
The 2020 NFL season was the 101st season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season started with the NFL Kickoff Game on September 10, in which defending Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City defeated Houston. The playoffs were expanded from 12 to 14 teams, adding a third wild card spot per conference. The season concluded with Tampa Bay defeating Kansas City in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 7, 2021.
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Justin Skyler Fields is an American professional football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with the Georgia Bulldogs, he played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was twice named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and appeared in the 2021 National Championship Game.
Joseph Lee Burrow is an American professional football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). After beginning his college football career with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Burrow played for the LSU Tigers, winning the Heisman Trophy and the College Football Playoff National Championship as a senior. He was selected by the Bengals first overall in the 2020 NFL draft.
Jayden Daniels is an American professional football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played three seasons of college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils and two with the LSU Tigers, winning the 2023 Heisman Trophy with the latter after leading the FBS in total yards and setting its single-season passer rating record. Daniels was selected by the Commanders second overall in the 2024 NFL draft, with the season seeing him set the rookie single-game completion percentage record as well as a game-winning Hail Mary pass as time expired in a play known as the Madhouse in Maryland.
Brock Purdy is an American professional football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones and was selected by the 49ers with the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft, becoming that year's Mr. Irrelevant.
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The 2021 NFL season was the 102nd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season was the first to feature a 17-game regular season schedule as the league expanded the season from 16 games. The regular season started on September 9, 2021, with defending Super Bowl LV champion Tampa Bay defeating Dallas in the NFL Kickoff Game. The regular season ended on January 9, 2022. The playoffs started on January 15 and concluded with Super Bowl LVI, the league's championship game, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on February 13, with the Los Angeles Rams defeating Cincinnati.
The 2022 NFL season was the 103rd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 8, 2022, with the defending Super Bowl LVI champion Los Angeles Rams falling to Buffalo in the NFL Kickoff Game, and ended on January 8, 2023. The playoffs started on January 14 and concluded with Super Bowl LVII, the league's championship game, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on February 12, with Kansas City defeating Philadelphia.
Look for the NFL to constantly find a way to fill the day, regardless of the day of the week on which it lands. In 2023, it will be easy. Play a full slate of games on Sunday, December 24, and play three on Monday, December 25.
The ESPN Plus exclusive game will be an annual occurrence through 2033
Typically, playoff games are part of the contracts that rights holders sign. When the NFL signed new television deals in 2021, it kept a playoff game unattached to sell on a stand-alone basis
[Peacock's] game does not fall under the broader rights deal, but is instead the result of a one-year agreement between NBC and the NFL worth in the neighborhood of $110 million