2014 NFL season The 2014 NFL season is the 95th season in the history of the National Football League ( NFL ) . The regular season is set to begin Thursday , September 4 , 2014 , with the annual kickoff game featuring the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks hosting the Green Bay Packers . The season will conclude with Super Bowl XLIX , the league ' s championship game , on Sunday , February 1 , 2015 , at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale , Arizona . Player movement . The 2014 league year began at 4 pm EST on March 11 , which marked the start of the league ' s free agency period . The per - team salary cap was set at . The so - called " legal tampering " period during which time agents representing prospective unrestricted free agent players ( though not the players themselves ) were allowed to have contact with team representatives with the purpose of determining a player ' s market value and to begin contract negotiations , began at noon ( EST ) on March 8 . Free agency . A total of 471 players were eligible for some form of free agency as of the start of the free agency period . In addition , a number of highly paid players were released after the start of the league year to allow their teams to regain space under the salary cap . Among the high profile players who changed teams via free agency were cornerbacks Darrelle Revis ( left the Buccaneers , joined the Patriots ) , Dominique Rodgers - Cromartie ( from Broncos to Giants ) , Aqib Talib ( from Patriots to Broncos ) and Alterraun Verner ( from Titans to Buccaneers ) ; safeties Jairus Byrd ( from Bills to Saints ) and T . J . Ward ( from Browns to Broncos ) ; defensive ends DeMarcus Ware ( from Cowboys to Broncos ) , Lamarr Houston ( from Raiders to Bears ) , Willie Young ( from Lions to Bears ) and Michael Johnson ( from Bengals to Buccaneers ) ; offensive tackles Jared Veldheer ( from Raiders to Cardinals ) and Brandon Albert ( from Chiefs to Dolphins ) ; defensive tackle Jason Hatcher ( from Cowboys to Redskins ) ; wide receivers Steve Smith ( Panthers to Ravens ) and Eric Decker ( from Broncos to Jets ) ; and linebacker Karlos Dansby ( from Cardinals to Browns ) . Four players were assigned the non - exclusive franchise tag by their teams , which ensured that the team would receive compensation were the player to sign a contract with another team . These players were defensive end Greg Hardy ( Panthers ) , tight end Jimmy Graham ( Saints ) , placekicker Nick Folk ( Jets ) and linebacker Brian Orakpo ( Redskins ) . Two other teams used the transition tag , which guarantees a lesser compensation if a tagged player signs elsewhere . Players given the transition tag were Alex Mack ( Browns ) and Jason Worilds ( Steelers ) . Draft . The 2014 NFL Draft was held May 8 – 10 , 2014 , in New York City . This year ' s draft included a record number of 98 non - seniors . The event was delayed roughly two weeks compared to its traditional position on the NFL calendar in late April due to a scheduling conflict at Radio City Music Hall , which has been the draft venue since . Prior to the draft the NFL Scouting Combine , where draft - eligible players were evaluated by team personnel , was held in Indianapolis on February 19 – 25 . In the draft the Houston Texans made University of South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney the first overall selection . There was discussion leading up to the draft as to the future of the event in New York City , where it has been held since . Given the increased interest in the draft over the past decade , there is a belief that the event may have outgrown Radio City Music Hall , which has been the venue for the past nine drafts . The possibility of extending the draft to four days was also being discussed . The NFL will decide in late summer where and when next year ' s draft will take place . Preseason . Training camps for the 2014 season will be held in late July through August . Teams may start training camp no earlier than 15 days before the team ' s first scheduled preseason game . Prior to the start of the regular season , each team will play at least four preseason exhibition game s . The preseason schedule will get underway with the NFL Hall of Fame Game on Sunday evening , August 3 . The Hall of Fame game is a traditional part of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame induction weekend celebrating new Hall of Fame members . It is played at Fawcett Stadium which is located adjacent to the Hall of Fame building in Canton , Ohio . The game , which will be televised in the U . S . on NBC , will feature the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills . Continuing the recent trend of scheduling teams that are associated with former players being inducted into the Hall , the 2014 class includes former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan and former Bills wide receiver Andre Reed . The others who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame are linebacker Derrick Brooks , punter Ray Guy , defensive end Claude Humphrey , offensive tackle Walter Jones , and defensive back Aeneas Williams . The 65 - game preseason schedule will wrap up on Thursday , August 28 , a week before the start of the regular season . Regular season . The 2014 regular season will feature 256 games to be played out over a seventeen week schedule which begins on the Thursday night following Labor Day . Each of the league ' s 32 teams will play a 16 - game schedule with one bye week for each team scheduled between weeks four and twelve . The slate features seventeen games on Monday night including a doubleheader in the season ' s opening week . There will be seventeen games played on Thursday , including the National Football League Kickoff game in prime time on September 4 and three games on Thanksgiving Day . The schedule also includes two games played on Saturday , December 20 , in the season ' s sixteenth week . The regular season concludes with a full slate of 16 games on Sunday , December 28 , all of which are intra - divisional matchups . Under the NFL current scheduling formula , each team plays each of the other three teams in their own division twice . In addition , a team plays against all four teams in one other division from each conference . The final two games on a team ' s schedule are against the two teams in the team ' s own conference in the divisions the team was not set to play who finished the previous season in the same rank in their division ( e . g . the team which finished first in its division the previous season would play each other team in their conference that also finished first in its respective division ) . The pre - set division pairings for 2014 are as follows : Highlights of the 2014 schedule include : On March 4 , 2014 , the Buffalo Bills ' official radio flagship ( WGR ) confirmed that the Bills Toronto Series would not take place in 2014 and that the future of the series , which was otherwise scheduled to run through the 2017 season , was not yet certain . As currently configured the wild card round of the playoffs will feature the two wild card playoff qualifiers from each conference being hosted by the two lowest seeded divisional winners . The top two seeds in each conference will all have first - round byes . The games will be played January 3 – 4 , 2015 . The divisional round games will be played on January 10 – 11 , 2015 with the winner of each of the games in the wild card round visiting one of the top two seeded teams in each conference . The conference championships will be played on Sunday , January 18 , 2015 . Postseason . Super Bowl XLIX . Super Bowl XLIX , the 49th contesting of the Super Bowl , will decide the 2014 NFL champion on February 1 , 2015 . The game will take place at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale , Arizona . The Super Bowl will be televised in the U . S . by NBC with kickoff around 4 : 30 pm MST . Pro Bowl . The Pro Bowl is the league ' s all - star game . On April 9 , 2014 , the NFL announced that the 2015 Pro Bowl would be played the week prior to the Super Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale , Arizona . It will be broadcast in the U . S . by ESPN on Sunday , January 25 , 2015 . It was also announced that the unconferenced draft format that debuted in the 2014 Pro Bowl would be continued . Notable events . Some NFL - related events that made headlines throughout 2014 include : William Clay Ford ' s death . William Clay Ford , Sr . , the owner of the Detroit Lions , died March 9 , two weeks shy of his 89th birthday . Ford purchased the Lions in 1963 and had been the team ' s president since 1961 ; at the time of his death , he was the second - longest tenured owner in the NFL , behind only Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson . The team achieved only a single playoff win ( in 1991 ) under Ford ' s ownership . Ownership of the team passed to his widow , the former Martha Firestone . Ford ' s four children , including team vice - chairman William Clay Ford , Jr . are also involved in running the team . Ralph Wilson ' s death . Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson died at age 95 on March 25 . He was the founding owner of the franchise , which began in 1960 in the American Football League ( AFL ) . Wilson played a central role in the negotiations between the AFL and NFL which eventually led to the AFL – NFL merger in . He was the last remaining NFL owner among the Foolish Club , as the original eight AFL owners were named . Wilson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 . Coincidentally , both Wilson and Lions owner William Clay Ford , Sr . died at their respective homes in Grosse Pointe Shores , Michigan , within two weeks of each other . Ownership of the Bills passed to a trust headed by Wilson ' s widow , the former Mary McLean , and controlled by her and three other team officials . The trust does not intend to retain the team for the long term and has stated that the team will be put up for sale " at an appropriate time . " As has been a custom in the event of previous NFL owner ' s deaths , the Bills will wear a patch bearing Wilson ' s initials on their jerseys throughout the 2014 season . Michael Sam becomes first openly gay player drafted by NFL . Michael Sam , an All - America defensive lineman from Missouri who was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 , announced in February that he is gay . Sam was selected by the St . Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2014 draft with the 249th overall selection . He became the first non - closeted homosexual to be selected in the NFL Draft and if he makes an NFL roster , he would become the first openly gay player in the NFL . Sam , the Rams and the NFL were publicly congratulated upon Sam ' s selection by U . S . president Barack Obama who called Sam ' s selection " an important step forward today in our Nation ’ s journey . " However , Sam stated after the draft that he felt he " should have gone in the top three rounds easily " and there was speculation that his announcement of his sexuality caused him to fall in the draft . Sam was the first ever SEC Defensive Player of the Year to not be selected in the first round of the draft . On the other hand , Sam ' s performance at the NFL Scouting Combine was widely judged as " mediocre " and at least one draft analyst assessed his odds of making an NFL roster as only " slightly better than average . " ESPN aired Sam ' s reaction to being drafted which included an embrace and celebratory kiss with his partner . Miami Dolphins safety Don Jones tweeted a negative reaction to the display , which caused the Dolphins to fine him and ban him from participation in off - season team activities until he undergoes sensitivity training . Rule changes for 2014 . The following rule changes were passed for the 2014 NFL Season at the owner ' s meeting on March 26 , 2014 : A proposal to move the line of scrimmage on the extra point try from the 2 - yard line to the 25 - yard line to increase their difficulty ( a 43 - yard try as opposed to the more easily makable 20 yards ) was tabled ( as was a counterproposal from the Cincinnati Bengals to move it up to the 1 - yard line , to encourage more two - point conversion s ) , but the owners approved an experiment of kicking extra points snapping from the 20 - yard line ( a 38 - yard try ) for the first two weeks of the preseason . U . S . television coverage . This will be the first season under a nine - year television contract with CBS ( all AFC afternoon away games ) , Fox ( all NFC afternoon away games ) , NBC ( Sunday Night Football games , Thanksgiving night game , and the Kickoff game ) ; and an eight - year contract with ESPN ( Monday Night Football games ) . Among the changes from the previous TV contracts , NBC will broadcast a Divisional playoff game . The contract also allows ESPN to televise a Wild Card playoff game ( which , like other NFL games carried on cable , will be simulcast on an over - the - air station in each of the team ' s primary market ) . In addition , ESPN will exclusively televise all Pro Bowls for the next eight seasons . Furthermore , the league will be able to move games between CBS and FOX by way of flexible scheduling , enabling CBS to televise NFC away games ( for the first time since 1993 ) , and Fox to broadcast AFC away games ( for the first time ever ) , in the late Sunday afternoon doubleheader slot . On February 5 , 2014 , the league announced it had sold off the first eight weeks of the NFL Network ' s " Thursday Night Football " package to CBS , who outbid competitors ABC , Fox , NBC , and Turner Sports . NFL Network will simulcast CBS ' Thursday night games , will continue to carry the Thursday night games from Week 10 onward , and will also carry two Saturday games ( Week 16 doubleheader ) for the first time since 2011 . All of these games ( except for one Saturday night game ) will be announced by CBS ' lead commentating team of Jim Nantz ( play - by - play ) and Phil Simms ( color analyst ) ; in return , NFL Network ' s broadcast team will produce the studio pregame and halftime reports . The deal with CBS is only for the 2014 season , with the league having the option to extend it for an additional season . On April 23 , 2014 , the league announced further changes to the flexible scheduling procedure : NBC may begin flexing games into the Sunday night time slot as soon as week 5 . NBC will be allowed to flex up to two games between weeks 5 and 10 , while the same rules applies for the remainder of the season . Uniforms . The Tampa Bay Buccaneers unveiled a new logo and helmet on February 20 , 2014 , as well as a new uniform on March 3 .