Taylor Swift, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and Super Bowl contenders
(ABC-Australia) America’s game is back.
The National Football League returns for season 2024 with the Kansas City Chief trying to achieve the first three-peat in the Super Bowl era.
Despite winning three of the past five Super Bowls, the Chiefs have will battle history and a host of exception sides all vying for the ultimate prize in professional American football.
But the NFL has become more than what happens on the field, with celebrity culture and intrigue becoming just as vital to the sport’s popularity with fans as wins and losses.
As the new season of one of the world’s most popular sporting leagues begins, here is everything you need to know before kick-off in to the 2024 NFL season.
When does the NFL regular season begin?
The new NFL year begins on Friday morning (AEST) with a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game.
The Kansas City Chiefs will be hosting the Baltimore Ravens in a genuine blockbuster.
The Chiefs hosted the opening game of last season, but we beaten by the Detroit Lions.
The second game of the season will be held at the special time of 10:15am, Saturday (AEST) when the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles play first NRL game in Brazil.
When are the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl?
After 18 weeks of the regular season, the best seven teams from each conference will progress through the to NFL playoffs.
The wildcard round will begin on Saturday, January 11, 2025, with six matches over three days.
The Super Bowl will be held in New Orleans on Monday, February 10, 2025. Kick-off for the Super Bowl is set for 9:30am (AEST).
Taylor Swift continues to have sway over the NFL
The 2023 NFL season will forever be remembered as the year Taylor Swift entered the NFL.
The global megastar began a relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and the viewing public gobbled it up.
One estimate, from consulting and analyzing firm Apex Marketing, put the value of Swift to the Chiefs and the NFL at $US331.5 million last season.
The broadcasters could not get enough of Swift either, constantly panning the camera over to her in the corporate box as she cheered on her man.
So, will the greatest sporting love story since Rocky and Adrian continue to affect this NFL season? It already has.
Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis will all give up their home grounds at some point during the season as Swift’s Eras Tour rolls on.
Eyebrows were also raised when the Chiefs we booked to face the Bills in Buffalo on November 17. That game falls in the middle of Swift’s concerts in Toronto, less than 180km away. Swift is playing from November 14-23 except for one date — November 17.
Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, said that scheduling was a coincidence. We’ll take that at face value.
As the season carries on and the Chiefs attempt to achieve an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl, you can be assured Taylor’s NFL era will continue to be broadcast and consumed.
What is the new kick-off rule?
The kick-off has changed — in a massive way.
Those new to the NFL may wonder why the most simple part of the sport has drawn so much attention.
Well, the kick-off is a problem.
Last season had the lowest rate of kick-offs attempted to be returned in league history. That was caused by years of meddling with the rules after the kick-off became a leading cause of injuries.
So, how do you ensure teams attempt to return kick-offs while lessening injuries? You steal someone else’s idea.
The United Football League, a professional football league played during the NFL off-season, adopted a new kick-off concept where the tacklers and blockers line up well down the field from where the ball is being kicked from.
New landing zones have been created to entice the kicker to place the ball inside the 20-yard line, rather than kicking it through the end zone which has been common practice for years.
The hope is the incentives to kick shallower will force returns, while the tacklers and blockers running less distance will reduce the number of high-speed collisions that plagued the kick-off for years.
How can I watch the NFL in Australia?
Fans in Australia have three options to consume the NFL in 2024.
For those who want to watch every game, they can subscribe to the NFL’s streaming service — NFL Game Pass.
NFL Game Pass is on sport subscription services DAZN.
Foxtel/Kayo will show all prime time matches, as well as a selection game on Monday morning (AEST) through it’s ESPN channel.
Australians can also get their NFL fix through free-to-air television. Network Seven will air games on Monday morning (AEST).