The big moves of NFL free agency have already been made, and the NFL Draft has come and gone. That means the NFL schedule release is the next big event during the offseason.
When is the NFL schedule release?
The NFL releases the schedule every offseason during the month of May. However, the league waits until the last second to confirm which day specifically the schedule will drop, and this year, we still don’t know exactly what day the schedule release is on. It will happen in the coming days, though, and all signs point to the NFL schedule release for 2024 being on Thursday, May 9.
Each team’s home and away opponents are already known, but fans are still excited to learn exactly when their favorite squad will play specific teams.
In each of the last four years the schedule release occurred on a Thursday. During that time it happened on May 7, 2020, May 13, 2021, May 12, 2022, and May 11, 2023. Last year, the schedule release happened at 8 p.m. ET, and you can expect the same this year.
In recent years, the league has added a fun twist to schedule releases. Now, NFL teams release fun social media clips that highlight the teams they will face. Each team has a different take on their social media posts, but it has become an entertaining way detail schedules.
How to watch the NFL schedule release
The NFL schedule release show will be on NFL Network and NFL+, and analysis of all of the games will happen on ESPN2. NFL Network and ESPN2 are both available on fuboTV.
*Watch the NFL schedule release live with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
2024 NFL Kickoff Game/international games
A few games for the 2024 slate are already determined. Included among those is the first game of the year. The NFL Kickoff Game historically includes the defending champions. Since 2004, the NFL Kickoff Game has included the defending champions on their home field every year except for three. This year, the Chiefs will start their quest to defend their title during the opening game of the season. Their opponent is still to be determined, but the game will happen on Thursday, Sept. 5.
We also already know that the Philadelphia Eagles will play the Green Bay Packers on Friday, Sept. 6, in Brazil on a Peacock exclusive broadcast. This will be one of five international games next season. International games have become more popular in recent seasons, and this year will see the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings host games in London, England. The Carolina Panthers will also have a game in Germany.
With the league now utilizing 17 regular season games, half of the league will have eight home games, while the other half will have nine games at home. This year, the NFC teams will have the extra home game.
This is everything we know about the 2024 NFL schedule and the league’s schedule release so far. We will update this article if any more information is released.
