National Football League exhibition season The National Football League preseason refers to the period each year during which NFL teams play several not - for - the - record exhibition games before the actual " championship " or " regular " season starts . Beginning with the featured Pro Football Hall of Fame game in early August , five weekends of exhibition games are currently played in the NFL . The start of the preseason is intrinsically tied to the last week of training camp . Exhibition season . Each summer has most NFL teams playing four exhibition game s ( referred to by the NFL as " preseason games ; " the league discourages the use of the term " exhibition game " ) from early August through early September . The Hall of Fame game is played first in front of a national television audience , the only game on the first weekend . It does not count toward the normal allotment of four games , therefore the two teams playing in that contest ( usually one from the American Football Conference and one from the National Football Conference ) each play a total of five exhibition games . The games are useful for new players who are not used to playing in front of very large crowds . Management often uses the games to evaluate newly signed players . Veteran players will generally play only for about a quarter of each game ( or less ) in order to avoid injury . Thus , first - stringers ' playing time is kept brief in the exhibition season , and in fact players are not paid their regular salaries for exhibitions , but the same per diem which they receive for training camp . The exhibition game tickets , however , are usually the same price as regular - season games . Several lawsuits , by individual fans or by class action , have been brought against specific teams or the entire NFL over the practice of requiring season - ticket holders to purchase exhibition games . To date , none of these suits has been successful . History . Exhibition games have been played in Professional Football since the 1920s . In the early years of the sport , teams often " barnstormed " , and played squads from leagues outside their own , or against local college teams or other amateur groups , charging fans whatever the traffic would bear . These games might be played before , during or after the teams ' regular seasons . The quality of the sport during this period was such that there was not much to be seen different in an exhibition game or a regularly scheduled game . But the players were just as competitive , and the fans demanded their money ' s worth . The only restriction was a major one : all games played against league opponents were considered regular season games , meaning only games played against teams from outside the league could be considered true exhibitions ( the " Staley Swindle " of 1921 was one notable implementation of this rule , which ended up impacting who won the championship that year ) . This rule was changed in 1924 , which set a firm date for the end of the season and declared any games after that point to be exhibition games . By the 1960s , teams in both the NFL and the American Football League began playing exhibition games toward the end of training camp and before the regular season , to acclimate players to game conditions . These games were priced well below the cost for regular - season games , and in some cases were " intrasquad " games , in which both offense and defense were made up of home - team players . Team owners realized modest profits from these games , because the players were still being paid only training camp per diem , so any game proceeds went strictly to management . With the AFL - NFL merger of 1970 , Professional Football was granted a Sherman Anti - Trust Act exemption , which emboldened some team owners to expand the exhibition schedule and to require season - ticket holders to pay for one , then two , then three home exhibition games if they wanted to keep their season tickets . The exhibition season then became , and remains , a large source of owner revenue that is not shared with the players . For several years through 1977 , the NFL season consisted of 14 regular season games and six exhibition games , usually three at home and three away , with some played at neutral sites . Starting in 1978 , the regular season was expanded to 16 games , and the exhibition season was cut from six to four games . From 1999 to 2001 , when the league consisted of an uneven 31 teams , some additional exhibition games ( usually 2 or 3 ) were played over Hall of Fame weekend . In order to account for the uneven number of teams , each team was required to have a bye week during the exhibition season . Most teams held their bye week in Hall of Fame weekend , while the others utilized them somewhere else during the exhibition season . This practice was abandoned after the Houston Texans were added to the league in 2002 , giving it an even 32 teams . The exhibition games do not count toward any statistics , streaks , season standings or records whatsoever . For instance , the four wins incurred by the 2008 Detroit Lions in the exhibition season did not count " against them " when they went on to become the first team to lose all of their regular - season games since 1976 , and the 1972 Dolphins , despite losing three exhibition games , are still considered to have played a perfect season . Similarly , Ola Kimrin ' s 65 - yard field goal in an exhibition game is not considered the league record , despite being longer than the 63 yard mark set by Tom Dempsey and later by Jason Elam in the regular season . Still , Professional Football is popular enough that many fans still pay full price for exhibition game tickets , which they must purchase in order to keep their regular - season seats . Many teams are sold out on a season ticket basis and have large waiting lists , with fans required to pay a one - time or annual fee for the privilege of remaining on the waiting list . A minority of teams offer promotions and discounts to fill the stands for exhibition games ; an example of this is the Buffalo Bills ' annual " Kids Day " promotion , where tickets , already the lowest priced in the league , are slashed to bargain - basement prices ( around $ 10 ) for children under 12 . International and neutral - site games . Prior to the commencement of the International Series , the NFL had another " featured " exhibition game called the American Bowl . This matchup was a " fifth " exhibition game for the two teams involved and was ( often ) played on the same weekend as the Hall of Fame Game . It was played outside the United States , usually in Mexico or Japan ; in the latter case , it often involved games that started at 5 : 00 A . M . U . S . Eastern time . The American Bowl was held from 1986 to 2005 ; similar international matches had occurred regularly since 1969 . In addition , teams will often play home games at stadiums on the fringes of their markets , or in markets not currently served by NFL teams . San Antonio , Texas ' s Alamodome hosted games in this way as did the Rogers Centre ( as part of the Bills Toronto Series ) . The Citrus Bowl was previous a common venue for games . The Carrier Dome in Syracuse , New York has been mentioned as a potential site for such a game , with the host team not yet mentioned . Television and radio . Although several exhibition games are broadcast nationally , most are broadcast by local television stations and produced by the teams themselves . Exhibition games are almost exclusively played at night due to hot summer weather , and are frequently scheduled based on local convenience ( e . g . games on the west coast tend to start at 7 : 00 p . m . PT / 10 : 00 p . m . ET ) . The league ' s blackout restrictions apply , although stations are allowed to play the game on a tape delay if the game does not sell out ( unlike the regular season policy , when rights revert to NFL Films ) . Many more exhibition games fail to sell out than do regular - season games . NFL Network airs many exhibition games on tape delay using local broadcasters ' game broadcasts , in addition to a weekly live game using its own crew . When airing the local broadcasters ' games , NFL Network will split the footage between each team ' s home market by half , with the home team having the first half and the visiting team having the second half . For instance , if the Cleveland Browns were playing an exhibition game with the Detroit Lions in Cleveland ( the two often play each other in the preseason due to it being an interconference matchup plus the close proximity to Cleveland and Detroit , see below ) , NFL Network would air the Browns ' local coverage in the first half ( in this case , WKYC - TV ) , and then air the second half coverage from the Lions local broadcaster , WWJ - TV . Local radio stations have conflicts with Baseball games . With the exception of the Hall of Fame Game , which is carried by Westwood One , there is no national radio play - by - play of exhibition games . Furthermore , the games are still carried by the teams ' local radio networks , but the affiliate count is reduced due to conflict with baseball and local sports as well as reduced demand because of the generally low quality of the contests . Television viewers are not required to watch exhibition games in order to later view regular - season games . Despite this , the league ' s subscription FieldPass still charges full price for Internet audio of these games . Matchups . Unlike the regular season , the exhibition matchups are not based on any rotating or set formula . The NFL schedules the matchups for all of the exhibition games . Since 2002 , individual teams have been allowed to negotiate their own deals to play each other during the preseason . The league allows individual teams to provide input into desired matchups and determines the matchups for any games that were not individually negotiated ; however , the league sets all game dates and times . The exhibition season schedule is released in the spring , shortly before the regular season schedule is announced . The NFL has set a loose precedent of determining exhibition matchups : The teams that play in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game are determined solely by the league ( and the Hall of Fame committee ) , featuring one AFC team and one NFC team . Its matchup is announced well in advance , around the time of the Super Bowl , when the Hall of Fame inductees are announced . Under some circumstances , the matchup is planned well into the future . For example , the Buccaneers played the Steelers in the 1998 Hall of Fame Game , a matchup that had been announced in 1983 . In recent times , if there has been an expansion team added to the league , that team will be invited to play in the Hall of Fame game ( Carolina , Jacksonville , the new Cleveland Browns , and Houston all played in their expansion seasons in 1995 , 1995 , 1999 , and 2002 respectively ) . The 2009 game , however , was between two original American Football League teams : the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans ( formerly the Houston Oilers ) . This matchup was announced after Ralph C . Wilson , Jr . an AFL founder and the only owner ever of the Bills , was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 1 , 2009 . The Titans ' owner , Bud Adams , is also the only owner his team has ever had , and the two are the only living members of the " Foolish Club " , the founders of the original eight AFL teams . Wilson and Adams are two of the only three men who have majority - owned a Professional Football franchise continuously for fifty years ( the late George Halas , who owned the Chicago Bears from 1920 to 1983 , is the third ) . The Hall of Fame game served as a kickoff to the 2009 season , which would have been the 50th season of play for the AFL , if the NFL had not merged with it . Prior to the 1970 AFL – NFL merger it was common for teams to play each other twice in the same pre - season . Among the most recent occurrences were in 1992 when the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers played on August 1 in Tokyo , then again on August 15 , in Dallas , and in a more recent season , the Buccaneers and the Dolphins played each other twice in one preseason . It was also commonplace for division opponents to play each other in the preseason , due to the larger size of pre - merger divisions , but this is no longer allowed . As recent as 1984 , the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers played a preseason game despite the two being bitter rivals . Non - league opponents . The College All - Star Game , usually the first game of the preseason , was played annually in Chicago from 1934 to 1976 , and featured the NFL or World champion against an all - rookie team of college all - stars . During the earlier years of the competition , numerous other regional all - star games of the sort also existed . After the games became lopsided in favor of the NFL , they were abandoned . Between 1950 and 1961 , the NFL also attempted exhibition matches against the Canadian Football League ( mixing NFL and CFL rules ) ; these , too , were abandoned after the 1961 preseason , after the NFL won all six matchups ( the CFL finally won a game against American opposition in August 1961 , but this was against an American Football League team ; as a result of the embarrassment , the AFL opted not to play the CFL again beyond that one game ) . Also , from 1967 to 1969 , during the transition period leading up to the formal AFL - NFL merger , the NFL and American Football League played each other in a series of exhibition matches ; notably , the 1969 match between the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins was the only time Vince Lombardi ever lost to an AFL team . The 1968 games were played under an experimental rule that eliminated extra point kicks and required a play from scrimmage to score one point ( a rule later implemented by the World Football League in 1974 and the XFL in 2001 ) . Since 1976 , no NFL team has ever faced a team outside the league ; this is in contrast to current practice in the NHL and recent practice in baseball , in which teams can play exhibition games against non - league teams . Schedule . The exhibition season typically begins the first weekend of August with the Hall of Fame Game . Previous seasons have seen the American Bowl game held the last weekend of July . The first full schedule of exhibition games is held the following weekend . Most games are held on Thursday , Friday , or Saturday nights , with one nationally televised game each night of the week : NFL Network airs a Thursday game , CBS and Fox a Friday and Saturday night game each , NBC with Sunday night games , and ESPN a Monday night game . Unlike the regular season , CBS ' s and Fox ' s national exhibition game opponents are selected regardless of conference . Four full weekends of games are held . The fourth and final full week of exhibition games ( fifth weekend overall ) usually has teams playing exclusively on Thursday and Friday nights , with no national games . This allows teams a few extra days to prepare for the first week of the regular season . It also prevents conflict with the start of the regular seasons for high school and college football , allowing those venues to expand their first weekends ' games from Thursday through Monday ( Labor Day ) . There is usually a conflict with the Major League Baseball season . Nationally televised exhibition games start at 8 : 00 PM Eastern Time , while regionally televised games usually start at 7 : 00 PM local time . Controversy . Currently , every NFL team requires its season ticket holders to purchase tickets at full price for two exhibition games as a requirement to purchase regular - season tickets . Complaints regarding this policy have gone all the way to the U . S . Supreme Court , but have failed to change the policy . A judgment in 1974 stated : " " No fewer than five lawsuits have been instituted from Dallas to New England , each claiming that the respective National Football League ( NFL ) team had violated the Sherman Act by requiring an individual who wishes to purchase a season ticket for all regular season games to buy , in addition , tickets for one or more exhibition or preseason games . " " Additionally , some players , coaches , and journalists , and numerous fans , object to the 4 - week exhibition schedule . Players have little monetary incentive to play in exhibitions , since they are paid only a training - camp per diem for these games . Their salaries do not begin until the regular season , and thus they are essentially playing in exhibitions " for free " . In spite of this , the risk of injury during the exhibition season is just as great as during the regular season . Regardless of these objections , owners continue to endorse the four - game exhibition season . The games are an easy source of revenue , and thus are unlikely to be dispensed within the foreseeable future . Future . In 2008 , NFL commissioner Roger Goodell raised the possibility of shortening the exhibition season , in favor of lengthening the regular season . By 2012 , it is possible the league may switch to two primary exhibition games ( down from 4 ) and an 18 - game regular season ( up from 16 ) . Reasons cited were solutions to future labor concerns about revenue , and the overall dissatisfaction with the exhibitions among players and fans . Also , since the NFL is now widely considered a competitive year - round business , veteran players normally train and condition year round , and do not need the extensive exhibition season to get back into playing shape after the previous regular season . Such a change would have to be codified in the next collective bargaining agreement , which remains under negotiation as of 2011 . So far , the National Football League Players Association opposes the move , citing an increased risk of injury .