The NFL season starts in two distinct phases. The new league year and free agency open in mid-March, and the regular season kicks off on the Thursday after Labor Day weekend, falling between September 4 and September 10. In 2025, the regular season begins Thursday, September 4, when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys.
That gap between March and September is not idle time. It is a machine of collective bargaining deadlines, broadcast-window math, and a 17-game schedule that must squeeze into 18 weeks. Understanding why kickoff lands where it does explains more than any calendar listing can.
The CBA clock that sets opening weekend
The NFL's start date is not chosen each year by league executives. It is produced by the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association. The CBA defines the league year as beginning at 4:00 p.m. Eastern on the second Wednesday of March. That single anchor cascades through everything else.
From that moment, free agency opens, trades can be executed, and contracts void or trigger. Offseason workouts follow, then training camps open roughly 15 days before each team's first preseason game. The Hall of Fame Game, typically the first week of August, marks the preseason's start, and the preseason runs three weeks under the current format.
The regular season's placement comes from a simple constraint: the NFL wants its first Sunday to fall after Labor Day. Labor Day is the first Monday in September, so the earliest possible Sunday is September 7 in some years and later in others. The league schedules kickoff for the Thursday before that first full Sunday, which is why the opener floats between September 4 and September 10. The holiday anchors the calendar, not the league office.
Why 18 weeks and 17 games change the math
The 2021 CBA expanded the regular season from 16 games in 17 weeks to 17 games in 18 weeks. That extra week did not add a new calendar slot so much as redistribute it. Each team now gets one bye week, but the league stages bye weeks across a wider window, roughly Weeks 5 through 14, to keep a full slate of games in most weeks.
The math is unforgiving. Seventeen games per team across 32 teams equals 272 regular-season games. Spread over 18 weeks, that averages about 15 games per week, with bye weeks thinning some slates. The league maximizes inventory by scheduling international games and Thursday night packages that do not compete with Sunday windows.
The Super Bowl lands 18 weeks after kickoff, plus a bye week before the championship game in most years. That pushes the Super Bowl into the first or second Sunday of February. Every date on the NFL calendar traces back to two numbers: the second Wednesday in March and the first Sunday after Labor Day.
Timeline: from league year to championship
| Phase | Typical timing | Anchor event |
|---|---|---|
| New league year, free agency | Second Wednesday of March | CBA-mandated 4:00 p.m. ET start |
| NFL Draft | Late April | Three-day event, Round 1 Thursday |
| Training camps open | Mid-to-late July | 15 days before first preseason game |
| Preseason | Early August to late August | Hall of Fame Game first |
| Roster cuts to 53 | Late August | Cutdown deadline before Week 1 |
| Regular season kickoff | September 4–10 | Thursday after Labor Day |
| Super Bowl | First or second Sunday of February | 18 weeks after kickoff |
The table shows why "when does the NFL start" has no single answer. The league year, the preseason, and the regular season are three separate starts that casual fans often conflate.
Edge cases: lockouts, hurricanes, and international kickoffs
The calendar bends under pressure. In 2011, a labor dispute pushed free agency into late July, compressing the offseason. The 2020 season began on schedule in September despite the pandemic, but training camps and preseason games were cut or eliminated. The mechanism survived because the Labor Day anchor and the 18-week structure are contractual, not discretionary.
Weather and logistics create smaller perturbations. The NFL has moved games for hurricanes, most memorably relocating a 2005 Saints home game after Katrina and shifting a 2017 Dolphins game due to Irma. International games in London, Munich, and São Paulo occupy Sunday morning and afternoon windows but do not change the season's start or end.
A counterintuitive detail: the NFL can start the regular season before the second Sunday of September but rarely does, because Labor Day weekend is a poor television window. The league would rather wait a few days than compete with holiday travel. The date is a broadcast decision wrapped inside a contractual one.
Misconceptions about the "start"
Several beliefs about the NFL start are wrong or imprecise. The most common is that the season starts when the first preseason game airs. Preseason games do not count in standings, and teams rest starters heavily. The Hall of Fame Game is a marketing event, not a competitive threshold.
Another misconception: that the schedule release in May is the start of anything binding. The schedule is a television product, released after the draft to maximize attention. Individual game dates can shift under flexible scheduling rules late in the season, so a September date is provisional in a way most fans do not realize.
Preseason games do not affect standings or playoff seeding. The schedule release in May is not the league year's start. Flexible scheduling can move late-season kickoff times and dates. Bye weeks are spread across Weeks 5–14, not fixed per team in advance. International games shift kickoff times, not the season's boundaries.
Read those bullets as a correction kit. Most "start date" confusion comes from mixing these five events into one.
Practical actions for planning around kickoff
If you are planning travel, fantasy leagues, or viewing parties, work from thresholds rather than guesses. The regular season opener is almost always the Thursday between September 4 and September 10. Book around that window, not a specific date from memory.
Fantasy drafts typically cluster in late August, after the third preseason game and before roster cutdowns. Season-ticket holders receive their schedules after the May release, but flex scheduling can alter late-season dates. For international games, confirm the local kickoff time because London games often start at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
A useful rule of thumb: if you need a hard date, assume the first Sunday after Labor Day for the full slate and the preceding Thursday for the opener. Verify against the official schedule once released, because the league occasionally adjusts the kickoff game for broadcast reasons.
Limitations and what the calendar cannot tell you
The CBA and Labor Day anchor explain the season's boundaries, but they do not predict specific matchups, playoff seeding, or flex-scheduled kickoff times. Those depend on competitive balance and broadcast contracts negotiated year to year. The calendar is stable; the contents are not.
One professional caveat: the 18-week structure could change again if the CBA is reopened or replaced. Any future expansion of the regular season would alter the Super Bowl date and potentially the kickoff window. Until then, the second Wednesday in March and the first Sunday after Labor Day remain the two fixed points that answer the question.
This article is general educational information about the NFL calendar, not a prediction of specific dates, matchups, or league decisions. Scheduling details can change, so confirm kickoff times and dates with the NFL or your local team before making travel or financial commitments.