Question: When does the regular football season start for nfl?

Disambiguated questions and answers:
context: The National Football League (NFL) regular season begins on the weekend following the first Monday of September (i.e, the weekend following the Labor Day holiday) and ends in December or early January. It consists of 256 games, where each team (32 total) plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Since 2012, the NFL schedule generally has games in one of five time slots during the week. The first game of the week is played on Thursday night, kicking off at 8:20 PM (ET). The majority of games are played on Sunday, most kicking off at 1:00 PM (ET), some late afternoon games starting at 4:05 or 4:25 PM (ET). Additionally, one Sunday night game is played every week at 8:20 PM (ET). One Monday night game then starts at 8:15 PM (ET) every week with the exception of the first week of the regular season, in which two Monday night games are played back-to-back (the second game always occurring on the West coast), as well as the last week of the season, in which no Monday night game is held. In addition to these regularly scheduled games, there are occasionally games at other times, such as a Saturday afternoon or evening, or the annual Thanksgiving Day games in which three games are played. Under a permanent agreement, the Detroit Lions play the early game, followed by Dallas in the afternoon. The evening game does not have a set team. During the final week of the regular season, all games are held on Sunday, and since 2010, divisional matchups.
question: In general, when does the regular football season start for nfl?
short_answers: the weekend following the Labor Day
the weekend following the first Monday of September
wikipage: NFL regular season
context: The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 7, 2017, with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the defending Super Bowl LI champion New England Patriots 42-27 in the NFL Kickoff Game. The season concluded with Super Bowl LII, where the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles faced the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33 to win their first Super Bowl title, and fourth NFL championship, in franchise history.
question: When does the regular football season start for nfl in 2017?
short_answers: September 7, 2017
wikipage: 2017 NFL season
context: The 2016 NFL season was the 97th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 8, 2016, with the defending Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers 21–20 in the NFL Kickoff Game. The season concluded with Super Bowl LI, the league's championship game on February 5, 2017, at NRG Stadium in Houston with the New England Patriots defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in overtime.
question: When does the regular football season start for nfl in 2016?
short_answers: September 8, 2016
wikipage: 2016 NFL season
context: The 2015 NFL season was the 96th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL), and the 50th of the Super Bowl era. To celebrate the 50th season of the Super Bowl, a gold-plated NFL logo and other various gold-themed promotions were used throughout the season. It began on Thursday, September 10, 2015, with the annual kickoff game featuring the defending Super Bowl XLIX champion New England Patriots hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. The season concluded with Super Bowl 50, the league's championship game, on Sunday, February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with the Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers 24–10.
question: When does the regular football season start for nfl in 2015?
short_answers: September 10, 2015
wikipage: 2015 NFL season

Long-form answers:
long_answer: The National Football League regular season begins on the weekend following the first Monday of September (i.e, the weekend following the Labor Day holiday) and ends in December or early January. Because of this, the actual start date for the regular season will vary from year to year. The 2015 NFL season was the 96th season and began on September 10, 2015. The 2016 NFL season was the 97th season and began on September 8, 2016. In 2017, the NFL held its 98th season, which began on September 7, 2017.