The NFL season is set to begin with an AFC Championship rematch.
The NFL announced Monday that it will open its season with a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens in its annual Kickoff Game September 5. The game will feature two of the league’s most dynamic quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. As has been the case since 2006, NBC will broadcast the opening game in prime-time under its Sunday Night Football banner.
The NFL’s Thursday night kickoff game began in 2002 and on most occasions has featured the defending Super Bowl champion. Kansas City will appear in the game for a second year in a row after losing to the Detroit Lions to open their 2023 campaign, a game that averaged 26.8 million viewers per NBC’s total audience delivery metric. The NFL Kickoff Game has averaged over 20 million viewers in four of the last five seasons.
The 2024 season will feature two nights of standalone action before the first full Sunday of games with the NFL’s international series debuting in Brazil on Friday following opening night. That game, between the Eagles and Packers, was officially announced last month and will stream exclusively on Peacock. NBC will produce three standalone games during week one of the NFL season, with its traditional Sunday Night Football game yet-to-be-announced.
The rest of the NFL schedule is set to release in full on Wednesday after having been originally anticipated last week. The schedule delay coincides with reporting that Netflix is a leading contender to purchase the NFL’s Christmas Day games this season. Originally, the NFL had not planned to play Christmas Day games this season with the holiday falling on a Wednesday; though that is perhaps the reason the league is free to seek a deal outside of its existing media partners. If Netflix were to secure a deal, at least four streaming services would air exclusive games next season: Amazon Prime, Netflix, ESPN+, and Peacock.
