NFL Kickoff

NFL Kickoff Game is the name given to the first game of the National Football League (NFL) regular season. A single game is held, preceded by a concert and other ceremonies. This first game of the season is usually scheduled for the Thursday following Labor Day in early September (with the date range being from September 4 to 10). 2 exceptions were made with one that occurred in 2012, when the game was moved to Wednesday to prevent conflicts with the acceptance speech of the Democratic National Convention and the other in 2026 when the league scheduled an NFL International Series Game on that night.

The Kickoff Game was introduced for the 2002 season. From 2004 onward, the current Super Bowl champion has hosted the Kickoff Game with two exceptions—in 2013, the defending champion Baltimore Ravens opened on the road because of a conflict with a previously scheduled Orioles baseball game the same day, and in 2019, the defending champion New England Patriots did not play at all in the Kickoff Game as the league instead scheduled the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bearsfor that game to celebrate its 100th season of operation. Since the NFL began it, the home team has won all but six matchups (2002, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2023).

Broadcast rights to the Kickoff Game is typically included in the NFL's top primetime television package; as such, it is currently broadcast by NBC as part of the Sunday Night Football package.