Giants
15 May 2025

Each spring, six NFL executives take on an enormous task: creating the NFL schedule for the next season.

The NFL schedule makers Executive Vice President of Media Distribution Hans Schroeder, Vice President of Broadcasting Michael North, Senior Vice President of Broadcasting Howard Katz, Senior Director of Broadcasting Blake Jones, Director of Broadcasting Charlotte Carey, Vice President of Broadcasting Onnie Bose, and Broadcasting Senior Coordinator Lucy Popko must consider the fans, the league's broadcast partners and many other factors when building the 272-game schedule that spans the 18 weeks of the NFL season and showcases the league's best matchups and talent.

The schedule makers will have to work around events that are already scheduled to take place in or near NFL stadiums events that may compete with the games, put undue stress on the playing surface, or create traffic or logistical nightmares. The league begins collecting information from the clubs in January about any events that may create scheduling conflicts.

The schedulers are also constrained by internal factors. A formula determines each team's opponents every year, and a rotating schedule ensures that every team plays each of the other 31 at least once in a four-year period.

It takes thousands of cloud-based computers to produce thousands of possible schedules a process that sets the stage for the schedule makers to begin the arduous task of picking the best possible one.

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THE ANATOMY OF THE NFL SCHEDULE

The league's 32 teams are split into two conferences the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The 16 teams in each conference are split into the East, North, South and West divisions; every division has four teams.

Every team will play 17 regular-season games with one bye week. Teams will alternate seasons where they host nine regular-season games and one preseason game, or eight regular-season games and two preseason games.

Here's a breakdown of how each NFL team's opponents are set:

• Six games against divisional opponents two games per team, one at home and one on the road.
• Four games against teams from a division within its conference two games at home and two on the road.
• Four games against teams from a division in the other conference two games at home and two on the road.
• Two games against teams from the two remaining divisions in its own conference one game at home and one on the road. Matchups are based on division ranking from the previous season.
• The 17th game is an additional game against a non-conference opponent from a division that the team is not scheduled to play. Matchups are based on division ranking from the previous season.

ONCE EVERY TEAM'S OPPONENTS ARE SET, THE SCHEDULE MAKERS BEGIN THE PROCESS OF DETERMINING WHEN EVERY GAME WILL BE PLAYED.

The NFL's marquee matchups often are scheduled to air during the week's premier time slots Thursday, Sunday or Monday nights or the late game on Sunday afternoons. The league typically schedules the Super Bowl champion at home for the Thursday night game that kicks off the new season.

The league will also schedule games on the Saturdays of Weeks 15, 16 and 18. In Week 15, three of the five designated matchups will be played on Saturday with the remainder being played on Sunday. Specific dates and start times for the designated Week 15 matchups will be determined and announced later during the season.

INTERNATIONAL SERIES

The National Football League announced the schedule for the 2025 International Games that will be played across Europe in Dublin, Ireland, London, U.K., Berlin, Germany and Madrid, Spain as part of the league's long-term commitment to global expansion, driving year-round engagement in international markets.

On Sunday, Sept. 28, the Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, in the country's first-ever regular season NFL game.

The Vikings will then travel to London to play the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the only purpose-built NFL stadium outside of the U.S. on Sunday, Oct. 5, which sees the team play two consecutive international games. This game will also be the 40th regular season game to be played in the capital.

The New York Jets will then take on the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Oct. 12, also at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The third and final game in London will feature the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 19. This will be the 14th game in the capital for the Jaguars, as part of the team's multi-year commitment to playing games in the U.K.

For the first time in Berlin, Germany, the Indianapolis Colts will host the Atlanta Falcons at the Olympic Stadium Berlin on Sunday, Nov. 9. The 2025 Berlin game is part of the NFL's commitment to playing regular season games across Germany and will be the fifth regular season game in the market, with the league having previously played games in Munich and Frankfurt.

The 2025 international slate will culminate in Madrid, Spain on Sunday, Nov.16 with the Miami Dolphins taking on the Washington Commanders at the Bernabu Stadium, home of Real Madrid C.F., in the league's first-ever regular season game in Spain.

The Los Angeles Chargers will kick off the 2025 International Games Week 1 of the regular season on Sept. 5 in So Paulo, Brazil at Corinthians Arena. The opponent for this game will be announced on May 14, with the full 2025 NFL schedule release.

"The 2025 NFL season will see seven regular season games played outside of the U.S. the most ever regular season international games to date, including historic first games in iconic venues in Berlin, Dublin and Madrid," said NFL Executive Vice President, Club Business, Major Events & International Peter O'Reilly. "The 2025 International Games schedule showcases an exciting selection of matchups featuring major NFL stars, bringing our game directly to fans around the world, and underscores our collective commitment to global growth as we continue our journey to becoming a truly global sport."

FLEX SCHEDULING

This season, "flexible scheduling" for Sunday Night Football may be used up to twice between Weeks 5-10, and in the NFL's discretion during Weeks 11-17; for Monday Night Football at the NFL's discretion in Weeks 12-17; and for Thursday Night Football it may be used up to twice between Weeks 13-17.

During these Flex Scheduling Windows, the games initially scheduled for Sunday Night Football (on NBC), Monday Night Football (on ESPN or ABC), and Thursday Night Football (on Amazon Prime Video) are tentatively scheduled and subject to change.

Only Sunday afternoon games (or those listed as TBD) are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, Monday night, or Thursday Night, in which case the initially scheduled Thursday/Sunday/Monday night game would be moved to Sunday afternoon.

Sunday afternoon games may also be moved between 1:00 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. or 4:25 p.m. ET. As in prior seasons, for Week 18, the final weekend of the season, the scheduling of the Saturday, Sunday afternoon, and the Sunday night games is not assigned.

In Week 18, two games will be played on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. ET) with the remainder to be played on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET and 4:25 p.m. ET) and one matchup to be played on Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET). Specific dates, start times, and networks for Week 18 matchups will be determined and announced following the conclusion of Week 17.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SCHEDULE?

Each team has one bye week assigned and many teams have a specific number of cross-country games scheduled (as determined by the standard formula at the conclusion of the previous season), stadium conflicts and other operational obstacles in their schedule. The scheduling teams aim to balance these operational elements while still trying to maximize fan viewership.

The process is challenging, and there may be no such thing as a perfect schedule, but the schedule makers consistently try to provide the NFL's fans and broadcast partners with a compelling and entertaining slate of games week after week.

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