Everything about the 2024/25 NFL season: New rules, special helmets – and a Super Bowl hat trick?

Everything about the 2024/25 NFL season
New rules, special helmets – and a Super Bowl hat trick?

05.09.2024, 11:55 a.m.

The egg is flying again: On Friday night, the NFL, the richest sports league in the world, is starting the new season with a bang. The league is starting this year with a few changes – and some Germans are once again heavily involved. Questions and answers about the 2024/25 NFL season.

What’s next?

The National Football League (NFL) started its 105th season, and on Friday night (2:20 a.m. CEST) the Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl champions at the end of the last two seasons, will face the Baltimore Ravens.

What does NFL mode look like?

Once again, each of the 32 teams from the eight divisions will play 17 regular season games in 18 weeks, with 14 (7 each from the NFC and AFC conferences) reaching the playoffs. Super Bowl 59 (LIX) will take place on the night of February 10, 2025, in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This will be the eleventh time that the NFL final will be held in the city in the delta of the Mississippi River. A record, New Orleans is on a par with Miami.

Yes. Last year there were two teams, this time it is “only” one. On November 10th the New York Giants will face the Carolina Panthers in Munich. There may be a German in attendance at FC Bayern’s Allianz Arena.

Who is the title favorite?

The experts agree, as do the bookmakers. Once again, the title will only go to the Kansas City Chiefs. The greatest threat again comes from the San Francisco 49ers, who lost Super Bowl 58 in Paradise, Nevada in the spring after overtime (22:25). The Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions, led by the German-American Amon-Ra St. Brown, can also expect something. The Chiefs could be the first franchise to achieve the Super Bowl hat trick. “If you can trust any team in NFL history to pull off a three-peat, it’s the Kansas City Chiefs with their superstar Patrick Mahomes and, above all, their head coach Andy Reid,” said RTL expert Patrick Esume in an interview with SID. The New England Patriots couldn’t even do that with perennial winner Tom Brady.

What is NFL legend Brady actually doing?

The quarterback legend is about to make his debut as a TV expert. After his retirement and a year off, the 47-year-old is starting at Fox. According to media reports, the Greatest Of All Time earned 375 million dollars (!) in ten years at the station. Problem: Since he is becoming a shareholder in the Las Vegas Raiders, the seven-time champion is not allowed to enter the facilities of the other clubs, for example during training. If Brady does become a co-owner, he will not be allowed to publicly criticize referees either. Difficult in his role.

What is changing?

There are a number of rule changes. One new feature is the “hybrid kickoff”. Players from both teams are now only allowed to move once the ball has touched the ground, a kickoff returner or the end zone. In addition, the professionals stand close to each other, preventing high-speed running into each other – and thus injuries. Every ball that reaches the “landing zone” (goal line to 20 yard line) must be returned – the “fair catch” is history. The returner could indicate with a hand signal that he did not want to carry the ball back and could not be attacked. Recently there had been fewer and fewer return attempts.

What else is new?

The “Guardian Caps” may be used, but they are not mandatory. The softshell covers for the helmets are intended to reduce the number of head injuries – still a major problem in the NFL. The question remains how many players will opt for this.

After England, Mexico and Germany, the NFL is now storming the South American market with its “away game” in Brazil. On Friday, the epicenter of American football will shift to South America for the first time. The expansion of the NFL is reaching Brazil’s mega-metropolis of São Paulo, and the duel between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers (Saturday, 2:15 a.m. CEST/DAZN) is not only a touchdown for the lucrative US league. SPTuris, the tourism association of São Paulo, estimates the economic effect for the city at over 50 million euros. The 42,000 freely available tickets were available in just over two hours, despite prices of up to 400 euros. “If we had a stadium for 300,000 people, it would be sold out too,” rejoiced SPTuris President Gustavo Pires. The average Brazilian probably doesn’t get much out of it.

What is the situation with Germans in the NFL?

Only two made it into their team’s 53-man squad, the German-Americans Amon-Ra St. Brown (Detroit Lions/Wide Receiver) and Brandon Coleman (Washington Commanders/Offensive Tackle). But several players are part of the practice squad and can make it into the matchday squad this way: Marcel Dabo (Indianapolis Colts/Safety), Kilian Zierer (Houston Texans/Offensive Tackle), Equanimeous St. Brown (New Orleans Saints/Wide Receiver), Lorenz Metz (Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Offensive Tackle) and Jakob Johnson (New York Giants/Tight End or Fullback). Johnson has had a back and forth. First the Stuttgart player was cut in the last roster cut, then made the team via the practice squad – and was released again. The question was: will the veteran play in Munich?

Who is overjoyed?

RTL and DAZN continue to hold the German TV rights. RTL will broadcast one game each on Sundays at 7 p.m. and 10:25 p.m. on free TV (and streamed on RTL+), plus another game at 7 p.m. on RTL+. DAZN will broadcast one game each at 7 p.m. and 10:25 p.m. The games on Thursday and Monday can also be seen on DAZN. RTL will increasingly report live from US stadiums this season.

On the first match day, the following games will be shown, among others: Kansas City Chiefs – Baltimore Ravens (Friday/2.20 a.m. CEST/RTL and DAZN), New York Giants – Minnesota Vikings (Sunday/7 p.m./RTL and DAZN), Atlanta Falcons – Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday/7 p.m./RTL+ and DAZN), Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Washington Commanders (Sunday/10.25 p.m./RTL+ and DAZN).