159-541: Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli , colloquially known as the Manningcast , is an American alternate live television broadcast of Monday Night Football hosted by brothers Peyton and Eli Manning , both former quarterbacks from the National Football League . It is produced by Peyton's production company Omaha Productions . The broadcasts air on ESPN2 and ESPN+ (select games) in
318-704: A conspiracy to violate antitrust law , by granting DirecTV exclusive rights to sell the Sunday Ticket product, thereby restricting competition and forcing viewers to pay super competitive prices to view out-of-market games. On June 27, 2024, a jury in Los Angeles found that the NFL had violated antitrust law in setting the price of the Sunday ticket package and ordered a penalty totaling more than $ 4.7 billion. With triple damages allowed under federal antitrust laws,
477-739: A duet between Alicia Keys and Jack White of the White Stripes – the song was part of the soundtrack for the 2008 film Quantum of Solace , then the latest in the James Bond series . MNF celebrated its 600th game broadcast on October 20, 2008, in a game which the New England Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos , 41–7. The 39th season of MNF ended on December 22, 2008, when the Chicago Bears beat
636-425: A merger between the NFL and AFL), Rozelle concentrated on signing a weekly Monday night deal with one of the three major networks. However, both NBC and CBS were reluctant to disturb their regular programming schedules. On the other hand, ABC was a distant third in prime time ratings and more willing to take any perceived risk, moreover, ABC's existing Monday night prime time lineup was a particular weak spot. As
795-636: A merger on June 8, 1966, to take full effect in 1970. In the meantime, the leagues would hold a common draft and championship game. The game, the Super Bowl , was held four times before the merger, with the NFL winning Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II , and the AFL winning Super Bowl III and Super Bowl IV . After the league merged, it was reorganized into two conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC), consisting of most of
954-413: A red carpet entrance lined by cheering fans and photographers taking pictures. It began with a shot of a downtown stadium surrounded by skyscrapers, with a 2017 GMC Acadia (product placement again provided by GMC) displaying the location for that week's MNF game on its navigation system . The Acadia then headed to a glitzy red carpet at the stadium's entrance, where McDonough, Gruden and Salters exit
1113-638: A single-elimination tournament , which culminates in the Super Bowl , played in early February between the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games. The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association ( APFA ) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season . After initially determining champions through end-of-season standings, a playoff system
1272-625: A blizzard; in 2012, when the Kickoff game was moved from Thursday to Wednesday to avoid conflict with the Democratic National Convention ; and in 2020, when a game was postponed from Sunday to Tuesday due to players testing positive for COVID-19 . NFL regular season match-ups are determined according to a scheduling formula. Within a division, all four teams play 14 out of their 17 games against common opponents or each other– two games (home and away) are played against
1431-497: A cinematic tease produced by Rico Labbe, Michael Sciallis, and Jason Jobes. It was during one of these teases that Barack Obama spoofed his announcement for the 2008 Presidential candidacy in favor of his hometown Chicago Bears in their game against the St. Louis Rams . That year, the tease was followed by the show open produced by Los Angeles-based The Syndicate called "Transformation". It features computer-generated imagery showing
1590-470: A city being transformed into a football stadium and passers-by on the street turning into players, coaches, fans, and officials set to an updated orchestral treatment of the "Heavy Action" theme song. The sequence began every week with a different celebrity walking down the street, picking up a glowing football helmet with the ESPN logo on the side and saying, "I'm ready for some football! Are you?", thus beginning
1749-411: A club's franchise or any other action, he deems necessary. The commissioner can also issue sanctions up to and including a lifetime ban from the league if an individual connected to the NFL has bet on games or failed to notify the league of conspiracies or plans to bet on or fix games. The current Commissioner of the National Football League is Roger Goodell, who was elected in 2006 after Paul Tagliabue ,
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#17327904947141908-407: A club's season being canceled, a restocking draft would be held. Neither of these protocols has ever had to be implemented. Free agents in the National Football League are divided into restricted free agents , who have three accrued seasons and whose current contract has expired, and unrestricted free agents , who have four or more accrued seasons and whose contract has expired. An accrued season
2067-674: A computer-generated stadium using 3D imagery – from the previous 45 seasons up to 2014. This was Mike Tirico 's final season as the play-by-play announcer for MNF , as he would join NBC Sports in June 2016. After three years of using the timeline-themed open, MNF debuted a new 75-second, Hollywood-themed open on September 12, 2016, featuring ESPN's new MNF broadcast team – Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Jon Gruden (color) and Lisa Salters (sideline reporter) – and more than 20 active NFL stars and Pro Football Hall of Famers walking along
2226-606: A different football code than the American game, the CFL established a niche market in Canada and still survives as an independent league. A new professional league, the fourth American Football League (AFL), began to play in 1960. The upstart AFL began to challenge the established NFL in popularity, gaining lucrative television contracts and engaging in a bidding war with the NFL for free agents and draft picks. The two leagues announced
2385-694: A game telecast, this time for the Chiefs ' home opener against the San Diego Chargers . As in 2007, the broadcast was shifted to ESPN once the first game was over. The game between the Jets and the Vikings was both Brett Favre 's first game in East Rutherford since his only season there in 2008 and marked Randy Moss 's return to the Vikings. Moss played only four games for Minnesota until he
2544-424: A greater television audience. An early bid by the league in 1964 to play on Friday nights was soundly defeated, with critics charging that such telecasts would damage the attendance at high school football games, and in any event had been prohibited by Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 for that very reason alongside Saturday games to protect college football . Two years later, Rozelle would build on this success as
2703-603: A live audience with large video screens in the background. The end of the opening sequence featured the team logos of that night's participants transitioning into the new ESPN Monday Night Football logo before going to a live shot. On October 3, 2011, ESPN pulled the theme song after Williams appeared on the Fox News Channel program, Fox & Friends , where he compared a golf outing involving Barack Obama , John Boehner , Joe Biden and John Kasich to " Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu ." On October 6, 2011, it
2862-458: A lower pick than any team that did not make the divisional round. The Super Bowl champion always drafts last, and the losing team from the Super Bowl always drafts next-to-last. All potential draftees must be at least three years removed from high school in order to be eligible for the draft. Underclassmen that have met that criterion to be eligible for the draft must write an application to
3021-419: A minority of preseason games are distributed among the league's national television partners. Through the 2014 season, the NFL had a blackout policy in which games were 'blacked out' on local television in the home team's area if the home stadium was not sold out. Clubs could elect to set this requirement at only 85%, but they would have to give more ticket revenue to the visiting team; teams could also request
3180-482: A national spotlight game which during the season's most critical weeks late in the year probably would not show the most important game of the week was long known by the league and network. As a result of this, the NFL wished to move the "Game of the Week" idea to Sunday nights to make flex scheduling possible, and they had long stated that it was only interested in having flex scheduling on Sundays, and not Mondays since it
3339-739: A number of awards for its players and coaches at its annual NFL Honors presentation. The most prestigious award is the AP Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Other major awards include the AP Offensive Player of the Year , AP Defensive Player of the Year , AP Comeback Player of the Year , and the AP Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards. Another prestigious award is the Walter Payton Man of
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#17327904947143498-524: A playoff bid, the number of wild card teams from each conference dropped from three to two. The playoffs expanded again in 2020, adding two more wild card teams to bring the total to 14 playoff teams. The NFL consists of 32 clubs divided into two conferences of 16 teams each. Each conference is divided into four divisions of four clubs each. During the regular season, each team is allowed a maximum of 55 players on its roster; only 48 of these may be active (eligible to play) on game days. Each team can also have
3657-695: A record 167 million people that watched Super Bowl XLVIII , the conclusion to the 2013 season. In addition to radio networks run by each NFL team, select NFL games are broadcast nationally by Westwood One (known as Dial Global for the 2012 season). These games are broadcast on over 500 networks, giving all NFL markets access to each primetime game. The NFL's deal with Westwood One was extended in 2012 and continued through 2017. Other NFL games are nationally distributed by Compass Media Networks and Sports USA Radio Network under contracts with individual teams. Some broadcasting innovations have either been introduced or popularized during NFL telecasts. Among them,
3816-406: A result, Rozelle made a deal with ABC. Despite high ratings, ABC lost millions of dollars on televising the games during the late 1990s and 2000s. The NFL also indicated that it wanted Sunday night to be the new night for its marquee game, because more people tend to watch television on Sundays, and games held on that night would be more conducive to flexible scheduling , a method by which some of
3975-565: A simulcast with ESPN. Amazon , through their Prime Video streaming service, is the exclusive carrier of the Thursday Night Football package. NFL Network, a U.S. pay cable channel owned by the league itself, broadcasts select games under the NFL Network Exclusive Game Series banner. Games under this banner usually consist of NFL International Series games and select Saturday games. In 2023,
4134-405: A sixteen-player practice squad separate from its main roster. Each NFL club is granted a franchise, the league's authorization for the team to operate in its home city. This franchise covers 'Home Territory' (the 75 miles surrounding the city limits, or, if the team is within 100 miles of another league city, half the distance between the two cities) and 'Home Marketing Area' (Home Territory plus
4293-550: A specific exemption from the NFL for the game. The vast majority of NFL games were not blacked out; only 6% of games were blacked out during the 2011 season , and only two games were blacked out in 2013 and none in 2014 . The NFL announced in March 2015 that it would suspend its blackout policy for at least the 2015 season . According to Nielsen , the NFL regular season since 2012 was watched by at least 200 million individuals, accounting for 80% of all television households in
4452-471: A team that finishes last would play two other last-place teams in the conference. The final game is an inter-conference based on a rotating cycle and determined by previous season's standings. In total, each team plays 17 games and has one bye week, where it does not play a game. Although a team's home and away opponents are known by the end of the previous year's regular season, the exact dates and times for NFL games are not determined until much later because
4611-555: A total of 32 are given. Clubs are required to make their selection within a certain period of time, the exact time depending on which round the pick is made in. If they fail to do so on time, the clubs behind them can begin to select their players in order, but they do not lose the pick outright. This happened in the 2003 draft , when the Minnesota Vikings failed to make their selection on time. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers were able to make their picks before
4770-503: A two-conference system from 1933 to 1966 , where the champions of each conference would meet in the NFL Championship Game . If two teams tied for the conference lead, they would meet in a one-game playoff to determine the conference champion. In 1967 , the NFL expanded from 15 teams to 16 teams. Instead of just evening out the conferences by adding the expansion New Orleans Saints to the seven-member Western Conference,
4929-471: Is a book, with the chapter number (in Roman numerals , sequentially with each week) and a tag line about the game to be played that night. At the end of the song, Williams Jr. plugged in the cords, thereby launching animated "helmets" into space, from the building toward the stadium at which the game was held (with the exception of October 5, 2009, when the helmets zoomed towards Brett Favre instead), passing
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5088-427: Is defined as "six or more regular-season games on a club's active/inactive, reserved/injured or reserve/physically unable to perform lists". Restricted free agents are allowed to negotiate with other clubs besides their former club, but the former club has the right to match any offer. If they choose not to, they are compensated with draft picks. Unrestricted free agents are free to sign with any club, and no compensation
5247-448: Is earned by the 32 clubs and is taxable there. This will remain the case even when the league office and Management Council file returns as taxable entities, and the change in filing status will make no material difference to our business." As a result, the league office might owe around US$ 10 million in income taxes, but it is no longer required to disclose the salaries of its executive officers. The league has three defined officers:
5406-403: Is easier logistically on relatively short notice to move kickoff times by hours instead of days. This became one of the major factors leading to the 2006 end of MNF on ABC , and NBC instead agreeing to air the "Game of the Week" with flex scheduling on Sunday Night Football . The NFL finally agreed to expand flex scheduling to MNF beginning in the 2023 season. That same season, in Week 15,
5565-543: Is elected by an affirmative vote of three-fourths or 10 of the conference members. The commissioner appoints the secretary and treasurer and has broad authority in disputes between clubs, players, coaches, and employees. He is the "principal executive officer " of the NFL and also has authority in hiring league employees, negotiating television contracts, disciplining individuals that own part or all of an NFL team, clubs, or employed individuals of an NFL club if they have violated league by-laws or committed "conduct detrimental to
5724-463: Is owed if they sign with a different club. Clubs are given one franchise tag to offer to any unrestricted free agent. The franchise tag is a one-year deal that pays the player 120% of his previous contract or no less than the average of the five highest-paid players at his position, whichever is greater. There are two types of franchise tags: exclusive tags, which do not allow the player to negotiate with other clubs, and non-exclusive tags, which allow
5883-478: Is required to schedule three preseason games. NFC teams must play at least two of these at home in odd numbered years and AFC teams must play at least two at home in even numbered years. However, the teams involved in the Hall of Fame game, as well as any team that played in an American Bowl game, play four preseason games. Preseason games are exhibition matches and do not count towards regular-season totals. Because
6042-432: The 2006 season . In 2011 , ESPN extended its MNF contract for an additional eight seasons, giving it rights to the broadcasts until 2021. The deal, valued around US$ 15 billion, also gave ESPN rights to expanded highlights, international, and streaming rights. A new deal signed in 2021 sees ESPN retain these rights through 2033. Included with the new contract are the rights to two Super Bowls in 2027 and 2031,
6201-529: The 2023 NFL season . The decision was made while the season was already underway, and therefore upset the league's other broadcasters. The move gave ABC an immediate financial benefit since the network could now charge higher commercial fees during those additional weeks since NFL games generally have higher ratings than most other programming. The simulcast came at a cost for Disney's cable partners, who would lose revenue from local insertion advertising as viewers gravitated towards their local ABC station to watch
6360-658: The Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup , was donated to the NFL (then APFA) in 1920 by the Brunswick-Balke Collender Corporation . The trophy, the appearance of which is only known by its description as a "silver loving cup", was intended to be a traveling trophy and not to become permanent until a team had won at least three titles. The league awarded it to the Akron Pros, champions of the inaugural 1920 season; however,
6519-622: The Green Bay Packers , 20–17, in overtime at home at Soldier Field in Chicago. The title sequence for the 40th season of MNF featured Hank Williams Jr. seen on the steps of a building (presumably a museum), surrounded by dancers, football fans, and statues/busts – which, along with everyone else in the scene, begin to move and dance – patterned after those at the Pro Football Hall of Fame . The transition to Williams Jr.
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6678-743: The Hammond Pros and Muncie Flyers from Indiana; the Rochester Jeffersons from New York; and the Rock Island Independents , Decatur Staleys , and Racine (Chicago) Cardinals from Illinois. The league was renamed to the American Professional Football Association (APFA) . The league elected Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams (the Buffalo All-Americans , Chicago Tigers , Columbus Panhandles and Detroit Heralds joined
6837-470: The Houston Texans began play as an expansion team . Other drafts held by the league include an allocation draft in 1950 to allocate players from several teams that played in the dissolved All-America Football Conference and a supplemental draft in 1984 to give NFL teams the rights to players who had been eligible for the main draft but had not been drafted because they had signed contracts with
6996-505: The Internal Revenue Code provides an exemption from federal income taxation for "Business leagues, chambers of commerce, real-estate boards, boards of trade, or professional football leagues (whether or not administering a pension fund for football players), not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual." In contrast, each individual team, with
7155-497: The International Space Station . As with the previous season (as mentioned above), the helmets "land" at midfield during a live shot and then crashed into each other. Williams Jr. appeared again at the end of the telecast to promote the following week's matchup. After that, the picture was freezeframed and the shot zoomed out to the book, which showed the freezeframed picture as part of a page. As this happened,
7314-677: The Las Vegas Raiders defeated the New Orleans Saints 34–24 on Monday Night Football . Monday Night Football has continued to provide entertainment as sports throughout its run. In addition to the extra cameras, the program has also pioneered technological broadcast innovations, such as the use of enhanced slow motion replays and computerized graphics. Celebrity guests – such as former Vice President Spiro Agnew , singers Plácido Domingo and former Beatle John Lennon , former President Bill Clinton , and even Kermit
7473-902: The Los Angeles Rams who came from a 1936 iteration of the American Football League, and the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers , both from the AAFC. By the 1950s, the NFL had an effective monopoly on professional football in the United States; its only competition in North America was the professional Canadian football circuit, which formally became the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1958. With Canadian football being
7632-682: The Skycam camera system was used for the first time in a live telecast, at a 1984 preseason NFL game in San Diego between the Chargers and 49ers , and televised by CBS. Commentator John Madden famously used a telestrator during games between the early 1980s to the mid-2000s, boosting the device's popularity. Each April (excluding 2014 when it took place in May), the NFL holds a draft of college players. The draft consists of seven rounds, with each of
7791-535: The United States Football League or Canadian Football League . Like the other major sports leagues in the United States , the NFL maintains protocol for a disaster draft . In the event of a 'near disaster' (less than 15 players killed or disabled) that caused the club to lose a quarterback, they could draft one from a team with at least three quarterbacks. In the event of a 'disaster' (15 or more players killed or disabled) that results in
7950-424: The 32 clubs getting one pick in each round. The draft order for non-playoff teams is determined by regular-season record; among playoff teams, teams are first ranked by the furthest round of the playoffs they reached, and then are ranked by regular-season record. For example, any team that reached the divisional round will be given a higher pick than any team that reached the conference championships, but will be given
8109-456: The 40th season – of MNF , after which the book closed, signifying the end of the season. The 40th season had the highest season viewership for MNF since ESPN acquired the rights to the broadcast. This was primarily due to the buffo ratings ESPN received for airing the October 5, 2009 game which featured Favre taking on his former team, the Green Bay Packers . The opening for the 2010 season
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#17327904947148268-500: The AFC package, and Fox carries afternoon games from the NFC package. These afternoon games are not carried on all affiliates, as multiple games are being played at once; each network affiliate is assigned one game per time slot, according to a complicated set of rules. Since 2011, the league has reserved the right to give Sunday games that, under the contract, would normally air on one network to
8427-632: The APFA awarded the Akron Pros the championship by virtue of their 8–0–3 record. The first event occurred on September 26, 1920, when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park . On October 3, 1920, the first full week of league play occurred. The following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. On June 24, 1922,
8586-539: The APFA changed its name to the National Football League (NFL). In 1932 , the season ended with the Chicago Bears ( 6–1–6 ) and the Portsmouth Spartans ( 6–1–4 ) tied for first in the league standings. At the time, teams were ranked on a single table and the team with the highest winning percentage (not including ties, which were not counted towards the standings) at the end of the season
8745-685: The ESPN pregame show Monday Night Countdown . Per an NFL broadcasting policy intended to allow those who do not subscribe to cable or satellite television to see local games televised by a pay television network, the ESPN-exclusive games are also made available on an over-the-air station in each participating team's local market. MNF is broadcast in Canada on TSN and RDS , in most of Australia on ESPN Australia , in Portugal on Eleven Sports, on TV 2 Sport in Denmark, on Channel 5 in
8904-456: The Frog – were often featured during the game to "liven up" the broadcast. The December 9, 1974 contest featured a rare instance of two celebrities entering the booth, with Lennon being interviewed by Howard Cosell and California governor Ronald Reagan speaking with Frank Gifford , with Reagan explaining the rules of American football (off-camera) to Lennon as the game went along. However,
9063-557: The Green Bay Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowls. Unlike the previous trophies, a new Vince Lombardi Trophy is issued to each year's champion, who maintains permanent control of it. Lombardi Trophies are made by Tiffany & Co. out of sterling silver and are worth anywhere from US$ 25,000 to US$ 300,000. Additionally, each player on the winning team as well as coaches and personnel are awarded Super Bowl rings to commemorate their victory. The winning team chooses
9222-553: The Manningcast that season all won their next game. However, in 2023, the "curse" returned as all NFL players who appeared as guests, plus Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson , saw their teams lose the next game. Another basketball player, Caitlin Clark , was not affected by the "curse"; her Iowa team was in the beginning of a 15-game winning streak at the time, with 14 of those wins coming after her appearance. Building upon
9381-893: The Mannings (played by host Miles Teller and Andrew Dismukes , respectively) commentating over a sketch themed around the FBI search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home , with self-deprecating remarks acknowledging the major changes in cast which took effect that season. Monday Night Football Monday Night Football (often abbreviated as MNF ) is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on ABC from 1970 to 2005 , before moving exclusively to sister network ESPN from 2006 to 2019 . While still airing on ESPN, MNF returned to ABC in 2020 beginning with select ESPN simulcasts , later expanding to select ABC exclusive telecasts in 2022 , and since 2023 ABC has aired
9540-628: The NFC receive the George Halas Trophy , named after Chicago Bears founder George Halas , who is also considered one of the co-founders of the NFL. The AFC champions receive the Lamar Hunt Trophy , named after Lamar Hunt , the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs and the principal founder of the American Football League. Players on the winning team also receive a conference championship ring. The NFL recognizes
9699-565: The NFL announced the NFL Source initiative, aimed at increasing the number of minority- and women-owned businesses that work with the league throughout the year. NFL Source will be mandatory for teams that host major events, such as the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft, and their organizing committees, but will be optional for other contracts at the team level. The NFL will partner with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc to help local businesses across
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#17327904947149858-405: The NFL began a four-year experiment of playing on Monday night, scheduling one game in prime time on CBS during the 1966 and 1967 seasons, and two contests during each of the next two years. NBC followed suit in 1968 and 1969 with games involving American Football League teams. During negotiations on a new television contract that would begin in 1970 (coinciding with the completion of
10017-402: The NFL by January 15 renouncing their remaining college eligibility. Clubs can trade away picks for future draft picks, but cannot trade the rights to players they have selected in previous drafts. Aside from the seven picks each club gets, compensatory draft picks are given to teams that have lost more compensatory free agents than they have gained. These are spread out from rounds 3 to 7, and
10176-525: The NFL cannot hold games on those days until the Friday before the third Saturday in December. While Saturday games late in the season are common, the league rarely holds Friday games, the most recent one being on Christmas Day in 2020. NFL games are rarely scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday, and those days have only been used three times since 1948: in 2010, when a Sunday game was rescheduled to Tuesday due to
10335-455: The NFL could ultimately be liable for $ 14.39 billion. The league said it would ask the judge to set the verdict aside then appeal the verdict if needed. From 1920 to 1934, the NFL did not have a set number of games for teams to play, instead setting a minimum. The league mandated a twelve-game regular season for each team beginning in 1935 , later shortening this to eleven games in 1937 and ten games in 1943 , mainly due to World War II. After
10494-521: The NFL end-of-game bumper music was played and the book closed, revealing a golden NFL logo on the back cover and signifying the end of the "chapter", or game. The scene was filmed in the summer of 2009 at The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee . Before Williams Jr. appears, Frank Gifford gave a short vignette about a memorable moment in the history of MNF featuring one or both of the teams playing that night's game. Tony Kornheiser did not return to
10653-513: The NFL occupied the top three rates for a 30-second advertisement: $ 882,079 for Sunday Night Football , $ 562,524 for Monday Night Football , and $ 440,523 for Thursday Night Football . The league, in recent years, has expanded their televised broadcasts to over-the-top streaming services. Since 2022, Amazon holds the exclusive rights to broadcast the Thursday Night Football package. Prior to then, Amazon streamed games from
10812-651: The NFL realigned the conferences and split each into two four-team divisions. The four division champions would meet in the NFL playoffs , a two-round playoff. The NFL also operated the Playoff Bowl (officially the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl) from 1960 to 1969. Effectively, a third-place game , pitting the two conference runners-up against each other, the league considers Playoff Bowls to have been exhibitions rather than playoff games. The league discontinued
10971-424: The NFL's best games could be moved from the afternoon to the evening on Sunday on short notice. Given these factors, as well as the rise of ABC's ratings on Sunday night, and the network's wish of protecting its TV series Desperate Housewives on that night, on April 18, 2005, ABC and the NFL announced the end of their 36-year partnership, with the Monday Night Football broadcasts being moved to ESPN starting with
11130-406: The Parthenon scenes were repeated from the year before. The 2010 season marked Williams' 22nd as part of the telecast's open. In an unusual coincidence, both games which had the New York Jets as a home team at New Meadowlands Stadium (now MetLife Stadium ) were delayed because of heavy rain and lightning in the area. In the first instance, the September 13 game against the Baltimore Ravens , it
11289-424: The Playoff Bowl in 1970 due to its perception as a game for losers. Following the addition of the former AFL teams into the NFL in 1970 , the NFL split into two conferences with three divisions each. The expanded league, now with twenty-six teams, would also feature an expanded eight-team playoff, the participants being the three division champions from each conference as well as one 'wild card' team (the team with
11448-508: The Top 50 most valuable sports teams in the world; and 16 of the NFL's owners are listed on the Forbes 400 , the most of any sports league or organization. At the corporate level, the National Football League considers itself a trade association made up of and financed by its 32 member teams. Up until 2015, the league was an unincorporated nonprofit 501(c)(6) association. Section 501(c)(6) of
11607-555: The United Kingdom, and in some other regions of the world outside the U.S. on ESPN International . A Spanish-language version airs on ESPN Deportes in the U.S. and on ESPN International in Latin America, while a Portuguese version airs on ESPN Brasil . During the early 1960s, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during prime time that could be viewed by
11766-456: The United States and TSN+ in Canada. On July 19, 2021, ESPN announced that Peyton and Eli Manning would host an alternate presentation of Monday Night Football . The deal signed by ESPN and Omaha Productions (which produced the ESPN+ series Peyton's Places ) was for three seasons and called for ten games each year. For the 2021 season , it was announced that the presentation would air for
11925-516: The United States and 69% of all potential viewers in the United States. NFL regular season games accounted for 31 out of the top 32 most-watched programs in the fall season and an NFL game ranked as the most-watched television show in all 17 weeks of the regular season. At the local level, NFL games were the highest-ranked shows in NFL markets 92% of the time. Super Bowls account for the 22 most-watched programs (based on total audience) in US history, including
12084-421: The Vikings were able to use theirs. Selected players are only allowed to negotiate contracts with the team that picked them, but if they choose not to sign they become eligible for the next year's draft. Under the current collective bargaining contract, all contracts to drafted players must be four-year deals with a club option for a fifth. Contracts themselves are limited to a certain amount of money, depending on
12243-896: The Year Award , which recognizes a player's off-field work in addition to his on-field performance. The NFL Coach of the Year award is the highest coaching award. The NFL also gives out weekly awards such as the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week and the Pepsi MAX NFL Rookie of the Week awards. In the United States, the National Football League is televised on eight networks across seven media partners: ESPN / ABC , CBS , Fox , NBC , Prime Video , Netflix , and NFL Network . The league offers its media rights in packages of games to prospective media partners. The packages can vary depending on conference, broadcast time slot, or both. CBS televises afternoon games from
12402-406: The beginning of his tenure to 17 million by the end of his tenure, and 400 million global viewers watched 1989's Super Bowl XXIII . The NFL established NFL Properties in 1963. The league's licensing wing, NFL Properties, earns the league billions of dollars annually; Rozelle's tenure also marked the creation of NFL Charities and a national partnership with United Way . Paul Tagliabue
12561-410: The best overall record, with tiebreakers in the event of two or more teams having the same record). These teams are seeded according to overall record and tiebreakers, with the division champions always ranking higher than the wild card teams. The top team (seeded one) from each conference are awarded a bye week, while the remaining six teams (seeded 2–7) from each conference compete in the first round of
12720-492: The best win percentage that did not win its division) from each conference. In 1978, the league added a second wild card team from each conference, bringing the total number of playoff teams to ten, and a further two wild card teams were added in 1990 to bring the total to twelve. When the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002 , the league realigned, changing the division structure from three divisions in each conference to four divisions in each conference. As each division champion gets
12879-528: The booth after 3 seasons and was replaced by former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden . The 40th season of MNF ended on December 28, 2009, with the Minnesota Vikings – Chicago Bears game in Chicago, in which the Bears won in overtime, 36–30. The telecast ended with a vignette that featured Gifford taking a look back at highlights from the previous four decades – and
13038-524: The broadcast during the first half of games. During the 2021 season, a "curse" akin to the Madden curse began to develop upon players who made guest appearances on the broadcasts, except Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors , with an observed pattern of players' teams losing the next week despite being favored to win. The "curse" was broken in 2022, as all players that appeared on
13197-417: The broadcasts on ESPN or ABC. ESPN also holds exclusive rights to stream one Sunday morning international game on ESPN+. Beginning in 2024, Netflix holds the global streaming rights for at least one Christmas Day game every season as part of a three-year deal. The Super Bowl television rights are rotated on a four-year basis between CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN/ABC. The NFL's most recent contract negotiation for
13356-449: The bulk of the games in simulcast with ESPN. In addition, ESPN2 features the Manningcast alternate telecast of select games, which was established in 2020, and since 2021 , ESPN+ has served as the U.S. streaming home of MNF . During its initial run on ABC, MNF became one of the longest-running U.S. television series , as well as one of the highest-rated , particularly among male viewers. Since 1993 , it has been preceded by
13515-453: The car, followed on the carpet by a flood of NFL players representing the past and present of MNF . Players then posed for pictures and wave to the crowd as they reach the stadium entrance. Josh Norman (Redskins), Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals) and Rob Gronkowski (Patriots) were among the current players being represented in the open, with Franco Harris (Steelers), Jerry Rice (49ers), Barry Sanders (Lions) and Bruce Smith (Bills) among
13674-414: The commissioner, secretary, and treasurer. Each conference has one defined officer, the president, which is essentially an honorary position with few powers and mostly ceremonial duties, including awarding the conference championship trophy. The commissioner is elected by the affirmative vote of two-thirds or eighteen (whichever is greater) of the members of the league, while the president of each conference
13833-462: The company that makes the rings; each ring design varies, with the NFL mandating certain ring specifications (which have a degree of room for deviation), in addition to requiring the Super Bowl logo be on at least one side of the ring. The losing team are also awarded rings, which must be no more than half as valuable as the winners' rings, but those are almost never worn. The conference champions receive trophies for their achievement. The champions of
13992-463: The country obtain the certifications necessary to do business with the league in furtherance of its efforts to increase partnerships with certified and underrepresented businesses that are 51% owned and operated or led by a veteran, woman, minority, person with disabilities or LGBTQ+. In 2015, a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers, alleging that the NFL, its member teams, its broadcast partners, and DirecTV engaged in
14151-671: The current league champion, the league issued a smaller replica trophy to each champion, who would maintain permanent control over it. The current location of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, long thought to be lost, is believed to be possessed by the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame . The current trophy of the NFL is the Vince Lombardi Trophy . The Super Bowl trophy was officially renamed in 1970 after Vince Lombardi , who as head coach led
14310-407: The exact draft pick the player was selected with. Players who were draft eligible but not picked in the draft are free to sign with any club. The NFL operates several other drafts in addition to the NFL draft. The league holds a supplemental draft annually. Clubs submit emails to the league stating the player they wish to select and the round they will do so, and the team with the highest bid wins
14469-518: The exception of the non-profit Green Bay Packers , is subject to tax because they make a profit. In 2015, the NFL gave up its tax-exempt status following public criticism; in a letter to the club owners, Commissioner Roger Goodell labeled it a "distraction", saying "the effects of the tax-exempt status of the league office have been mischaracterized repeatedly in recent years… Every dollar of income generated through television rights fees, licensing agreements, sponsorships, ticket sales, and other means
14628-612: The final two weeks of the regular season. The franchise with the most Monday night appearances is the Dallas Cowboys , with 85. The Pittsburgh Steelers secured the all-time lead with most wins on November 28, 2022, at 52. The most common Monday Night Football pairings are Broncos vs. Raiders (19 times as of 2019 ) and Commanders vs. Cowboys (17 match-ups as of 2015 , most among NFC matchups). The defunct Candlestick Park in San Francisco holds
14787-520: The first playoff game, a team may have five days off and others six, and also to allow the league to have games with mutual playoff implications played at the same time, most games during the final week of the regular season are played on Sunday. Consequently, there is no Monday night game that week. From 2003 to 2005 , one game was played on Thursday and another on Monday under the Monday Night Football banner. Starting in 2006 , when
14946-408: The first three weeks of the season (Ravens-Raiders, Lions-Packers and Eagles-Cowboys), with the final seven telecasts announced at a later date. The first Manningcast aired on September 13, 2021, as an alternate presentation of the Monday Night Football game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens . On November 13, 2021, ESPN announced that the presentation would also be offered for
15105-650: The formation of the American Professional Football Conference (APFC), a group who, according to the Canton Evening Repository , intended to "raise the standard of professional football in every way possible, to eliminate bidding for players between rival clubs and to secure cooperation in the formation of schedules". A second meeting was held on September 17, 1920, with representatives from teams within four states: Akron, Canton, Cleveland, and Dayton from Ohio;
15264-461: The game instead, rather than the ESPN networks. ABC's planned simulcast schedule for the 2024 NFL season had reverted back to four games, before Disney confirmed the simulcasts would continue until the end of the season on October 11, 2024, bringing the ESPN/ABC simulcast total from the originally planned four to ten. To avoid unfairness due to a Monday Night Football game where, just before
15423-425: The game was moved to the week before. Because of this, players from the teams participating in the Super Bowl are exempt from participating in the game. The Pro Bowl is not considered as competitive as a regular-season game because the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the players. The National Football League has used three different trophies to honor its champion over its existence. The first trophy,
15582-473: The group, nearly 50 more potential schedules were developed to try to ensure that the chosen schedule would be the best possible one. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the NFL Playoffs, a 14-team single-elimination tournament, is then held. Seven teams are selected from each conference: the winners of each of the four divisions as well as three wild card teams (the three remaining teams with
15741-542: The higher remaining seed hosting the lower remaining seed. The AFC and NFC champions then compete in the Super Bowl to determine the league champion. The only other postseason event hosted by the NFL is the Pro Bowl , the league's all-star game . Since 2009, the Pro Bowl has been held the week before the Super Bowl ; in previous years, the game was held the week following the Super Bowl, but in an effort to boost ratings,
15900-544: The home toward the stadium at which the game was held. Through computer-generated imagery, the helmets "land" at midfield during a live shot, and then explode. The "exploding helmets" gimmick was also used at various times in the 1980s and 1990s during the pre-game tease. Williams Jr. then appeared again at the end of the game to promote the next week's matchup. ESPN also continued to promote upcoming albums through its use in bumper music. On September 29 ( Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers ), ESPN used " Another Way to Die ",
16059-503: The introduction of flexible scheduling, three doubleheaders during the season with exclusive games on ABC , one divisional playoff game, and one exclusive game on ESPN+ . Beginning with the 2020 season , select Monday Night Football games have been simulcast on ABC . In the 2020 season , three games were simulcast. In the 2021 season , three Monday Night Football games and the new Week 18 Saturday doubleheader were simulcast. After ESPN renewed its Monday Night Football contract, it
16218-547: The late 1990s and early 2000s saw an even more increased reliance on the entertainment factor. Some halftime shows, featuring popular music stars, were broadcast in their entirety rather than being ignored in favor of analysis of the game by the commentators, as in previous seasons. On December 8, 1980, one of the most memorable moments of MNF occurred when Cosell announced in a news flash that John Lennon had been shot and killed in New York City. Monday Night Football
16377-765: The league during the year). The Massillon Tigers from Massillon, Ohio was also at the September 17 meeting, but did not field a team in 1920. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals), remain in the NFL. Although the league did not maintain official standings for its 1920 inaugural season and teams played schedules that included non-league opponents,
16536-478: The league has to account for, among other things, the Major League Baseball postseason and local events that could pose a scheduling conflict with NFL games. During the 2010 season, over 500,000 potential schedules were created by computers, 5,000 of which were considered "playable schedules" and were reviewed by the NFL's scheduling team. After arriving at what they felt was the best schedule out of
16695-403: The leg?"), actor Sylvester Stallone , film director Spike Lee , hip hop artist Jay-Z , and MNF theme singer Hank Williams Jr. ESPN scaled back to only one opening tease for the 2007 season. Williams Jr. and the all-star band returned, only this time they played in a " juke joint " set on a country road. The lead singer arrives in a GMC Yukon truck (GMC paid for product placement ) with
16854-567: The license plate "BOCEPHUS", which is Williams' nickname. The Syndicate's computer-generated tease was dropped and replaced by short pre-taped films focusing on a team or player in the game. Some of them have featured actor Jamie Foxx. Joe Theismann did not return to the MNF booth after 1 season, and was replaced by Ron Jaworski . The guest visits continued: Barkley returned to the booth on September 17 in Philadelphia . Other guests throughout
17013-601: The major criticism of ESPN's first MNF season. On the opening weekend, Arnold Schwarzenegger, another celebrity-turned- California governor , was in the booth at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California ; before that, Jamie Foxx appeared at FedExField in suburban Washington, D.C. Following them, celebrity appearances included NBA basketball superstar Dwyane Wade , Basketball Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley , NASCAR Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon , comedian Jimmy Kimmel (whose opening words to Joe Theismann were "how's
17172-567: The majority owner of ESPN, has used Monday Night Football to promote its other properties, releasing a trailer for the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens during one broadcast and incorporating The Muppets into another trailer. For its 2006 debut on ESPN, Williams Jr. re-recorded the MNF opening theme with an all-star jam band that included among others Brian Setzer , Little Richard , Questlove , Joe Perry , Clarence Clemons , Rick Nielsen , Bootsy Collins , Charlie Daniels , and Steven Van Zandt . The 2006 telecast generally began with
17331-574: The matter: "After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made my decision... By pulling my opening October 3, [ESPN] stepped on the toes of the First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore me, my song, and All My Rowdy Friends are out of here. It's been a great run." MNF did not have an opening sequence at all from Week 4 through the end of that season. With Suzy Kolber reassigned to the new studio show NFL32 , and Michele Tafoya having left ESPN for NBC Sunday Night Football ,
17490-512: The media rights deal was announced on March 18, 2021, to take effect beginning in the 2023 season. The deal renewed previous rights agreements made by the NFL and each of its network partners to air their respective game packages, while awarding Amazon the Thursday Night Football package. ESPN/ABC is set to return to the Super Bowl broadcast rotation and will broadcast the Super Bowl on U.S. television in 2027, 21 years after airing its last Super Bowl, Super Bowl XL . Digital and streaming distribution
17649-715: The most Super Bowl victories at six each. The reigning league champions are the Kansas City Chiefs , who defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 25–22 in Super Bowl LVIII . On August 20, 1920, a meeting was held by representatives of the Akron Pros , Canton Bulldogs , Cleveland Indians , and Dayton Triangles at the Jordan and Hupmobile auto showroom in Canton, Ohio . This meeting resulted in
17808-625: The network's Monday-night Wild Card Game during the 2021 playoffs. In February 2022, ESPN extended its contract through the 2024 NFL season, with Omaha Productions also slated to collaborate with ESPN on extending the format to other sports properties, such as college football , golf , and UFC events. The series received a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Series at the 43rd Sports Emmy Awards on May 24, 2022. On April 10, 2024, ESPN further extended its contract with Omaha Productions until 2034. The 2024 season will also see former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick appear on
17967-719: The originally scheduled game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots became the first game to be flexed out of the MNF spot; it was replaced with a matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks. 2023 was also the first NFL season New Year's Day fell on a Monday in the penultimate week of the regular season, consequently to avoid a conflict with the College Football Playoff there were no Monday games scheduled for
18126-462: The other network (known as "flexible scheduling"). The only way to legally watch a regionally televised game not being carried on the local network affiliates is to purchase NFL Sunday Ticket, the league's out-of-market sports package , which is available through YouTube TV starting with the 2023 season. The league also provides NFL RedZone , an omnibus telecast that cuts to the most relevant plays in each game, live as they happen. In addition to
18285-495: The other three teams in the division, while one game is held against all the members of a division from the NFC and a division from the AFC as determined by a rotating cycle (three years for the conference the team is in, and four years in the conference they are not in). Two of the other games are intraconference games, determined by the standings of the previous year – for example, if a team finishes first in its division, it will play two other first-place teams in its conference, while
18444-451: The participating teams, organized in the style of a concert poster . Despite the de-emphasis on entertainment on the overall telecast, ESPN did bring back Hank Williams Jr. for his 20th season as part of the opening. This time, the opening sequence was set in a private residence . At the end of the song, Williams Jr. touched a foot pump, which supposedly contained the helmets of that night's participating teams. The helmets were launched from
18603-528: The past players being represented. National Football League The National Football League ( NFL ) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in
18762-615: The playoffs, the Wild Card round, with the 2-seed competing against the 7-seed, the 3-seed competing against the 6-seed and the 4-seed competing against the 5-seed. The winners of the Wild Card round advance to the Divisional Round, which matches the lower seeded team against the 1-seed and the two remaining teams against each other. The winners of those games then compete in the Conference Championships, with
18921-414: The pre-merger NFL teams, and the American Football Conference (AFC), consisting of all of the AFL teams as well as three pre-merger NFL teams. Today, the NFL is the most popular sports league in North America – with much of the league's growth and popularity attributable to former Commissioner Pete Rozelle , who led the league from 1960 to 1989. Overall annual attendance increased from 3 million at
19080-435: The preseason does not count towards standings, teams generally do not focus on winning games; instead, they are used by coaches to evaluate their teams and by players to show their performance, both to their current team and to other teams if they get cut. The quality of preseason games has been criticized by some fans, who dislike having to pay full price for exhibition games, as well as by some players and coaches, who dislike
19239-402: The previous commissioner, retired. The NFL season format consists of a three-week preseason , an 18-week regular season (each team plays 17 games), and a 14-team single-elimination playoff culminating in the Super Bowl, the league's championship game. The NFL preseason begins with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game , played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton . Each NFL team
19398-575: The program's logo, was seen before the Monday Night Football Launch segment. The opening animation sequence begins with an image of a 2014 GMC Sierra ( GMC paid for product placement) and then goes into a timeline of historical events that occurred during the Monday Night Football era, including some highlights of MNF games from the previous 43 seasons up to 2012. At the end of the sequence, helmets featuring logos of that night's two participating teams are shown, followed by
19557-545: The record for hosting the most Monday Night Football games, including its 36th and final Monday night game on December 23, 2013. Among the active stadiums following the conclusion of the 2017 season , Miami Gardens, Florida 's Hard Rock Stadium had hosted the most games with 36. Eight new NFL stadiums have made their regular season debuts on Monday Night Football . Most recently, Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada , hosted its first NFL game on September 21, 2020, when
19716-563: The regional games, the league also has packages of telecasts, mostly in prime time, that are carried nationwide. NBC broadcasts the primetime Sunday Night Football package, which includes the Thursday NFL Kickoff game that starts the regular season and a primetime Thanksgiving Day game . ESPN is the main broadcaster of the Monday Night Football package with ABC airing select games either exclusively or as
19875-456: The rest of the state the club operates in, as well as the area the team operates its training camp in for the duration of the camp). Each NFL member has the exclusive right to host professional football games inside its Home Territory and the exclusive right to advertise, promote, and host events in its Home Marketing Area. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, mostly relating to teams with close proximity to each other: teams that operate in
20034-420: The rights to that player. The exact order is determined by a lottery held before the draft, and a successful bid for a player will result in the team forfeiting the rights to its pick in the equivalent round of the next NFL draft. Players are only eligible for the supplemental draft after being granted a petition for special eligibility. The league holds expansion drafts , the most recent happening in 2002 when
20193-500: The risk of injury the games have, while others have felt the preseason is a necessary part of the NFL season. Currently, the 14 opponents each team faces over the 17-game regular season schedule are set using a predetermined formula: The league runs an 18-week, 272-game regular season. Since 2021, the season has begun the week after Labor Day (the first Monday in September) and concluded the week after New Year. The opening game of
20352-414: The same city (e.g. New York City and Los Angeles) or the same state (e.g. California , Florida , and Texas ) share the rights to the city's Home Territory and the state's Home Marketing Area, respectively. According to Forbes , the Dallas Cowboys , at approximately US$ 8 billion, are the most valuable NFL franchise and the most valuable sports team in the world. 26 of the 32 NFL teams rank among
20511-520: The same package as part of a tri-cast model that saw games aired on broadcast television (initially through CBS and NBC, then later with Fox), cable television (through NFL Network), and digital streaming (through Prime Video). Amazon has also streamed games for free on Twitch since 2018. CBS streams its AFC package games on Paramount+ as a simulcast with its CBS broadcasts. NBC streams Sunday Night Football and select exclusive games on Peacock . ESPN streams its games on ESPN+ in simulcast with
20670-441: The schedule will give half the teams nine games as the home team, while half the teams have only eight home games. To minimize the perceived benefit on competition of having more home games, the extra home game will be rotated between the two conferences each year. This is because playoff berths are allocated at the conference level, so all teams within the conference will have played the same number of home games. The NFL operated in
20829-412: The season included Kimmel (another returnee), Drew Carey , Miley Cyrus , Russell Crowe and Terry Bradshaw . In addition, Gordon was a halftime guest on the game just before the season-ending Ford 400 and was joined by teammate Jimmie Johnson . At the end of each game, Williams returned to say, "See you in (city that is the site of the next week's game)." Both the open and close contain helmets of
20988-549: The season is normally a home game on a Thursday for the league's defending champion. Most NFL games are played on Sundays, with a Monday night game typically held at least once a week and Thursday night games occurring on most weeks as well. NFL games are not normally played on Fridays or Saturdays until late in the regular season, as federal law prohibits professional football leagues from competing with college or high school football. Because high school and college teams typically play games on Friday and Saturday, respectively,
21147-516: The sequence itself included some additional highlights of MNF games from the previous 44 seasons up to 2013. A 3D opening animation sequence is used for the 2015 season (46th season overall and tenth on ESPN). GMC's product placement once again promoted the automaker's line of Denali vehicles, including the Yukon Denali that is seen at the beginning. Also among the many changes is the highlights of MNF games – this time, they are set inside
21306-419: The series moved to cable, two games are played on the opening Monday night to capitalize on fan interest during " NFL Kickoff Weekend ". Before 2023 , the MNF schedule was set during each Spring before the regular season, which could not be changed. Thus, the league and network cannot guarantee that each late-season MNF matchup would have any significance or would be highly anticipated. The problem of having
21465-406: The sideline reporter position rotated between various reporters for the season. For the second year in a row, and the third time overall, the beginning of the 10:15 p.m. Eastern Time game ( Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos ) was shown on ESPN2 as the game that began at 7:00 pm. Eastern Time ( New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins ) ran past the scheduled time period. Lisa Salters
21624-403: The smaller playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0 and thus won the championship. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933 , to split into two divisions with a championship game to be played between the division champions. The 1934 season also marked the first of twelve seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league . The de facto ban
21783-424: The sport safer, mainly through fining or suspending players who break rules. These actions are among many the NFL is taking to reduce concussions and improve player safety. Prior to 2021, the NFL had utilized race-based adjustments of dementia claims in the $ 1 billion settlement of concussion claims, which had been criticized by critics before the NFL decided to end what was called "race-norming". On May 21, 2024,
21942-462: The success of the Mannings' broadcasts, ESPN has since produced similar broadcasts for some of its other sports properties, some of which not involving the Mannings, but were still called Manningcasts: Some of these The format, as well as the brothers' chemistry, have received critical acclaim. The Peyton & Eli broadcasts were parodied in the cold opening of Saturday Night Live ' s 48th season premiere on October 1, 2022, which portrayed
22101-467: The top five of Nielsen 's all-time most-watched U.S. television broadcasts by 2015. The NFL is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan . The Green Bay Packers hold the most combined NFL championships with thirteen, winning nine titles before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowls afterwards. Since the creation of the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for
22260-400: The transformation process. Celebrities for 2006 included Arnold Schwarzenegger , Matthew Fox , Hugh Hefner , Paris Hilton , Spike Lee , Ashton Kutcher , Samuel L. Jackson , Ludacris , Jack Black , Kiefer Sutherland , James Belushi , Ben Stiller , Tyra Banks , Carmen Electra , and Eva Longoria . In addition, celebrities returned in full force to the booth, though this proved to be
22419-476: The trophy was discontinued and its current whereabouts are unknown. A second trophy, the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy , was issued by the NFL from 1934 to 1967. The trophy's namesake, Ed Thorp, was a referee in the league and a friend to many early league owners; upon his death in 1934, the league created the trophy to honor him. In addition to the main trophy, which would be in the possession of
22578-416: The various Monday Night Football logos used since the program's debut in 1970. The 80-second opening animation sequence, which also featured Pac-Man , Darth Vader and President Ronald Reagan , was created by actor/filmmaker Peter Berg . A revision of the opening sequence was used for the 2014 season. Among the few changes, GMC's product placement promoted the automaker's line of Denali vehicles, while
22737-509: The war ended, the number of games returned to eleven games in 1946 , and later back to twelve in 1947. The NFL went to a 14-game schedule in 1961 , which it retained until switching to a 16-game schedule in 1978 . In March 2021, the NFL officially adopted a 17-game schedule after gaining the agreement of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). Having an odd number of games in
22896-483: The welfare of the League or professional football". The commissioner can, in the event of misconduct by a party associated with the league, suspend individuals, hand down a fine of up to US$ 500,000, cancel contracts with the league, and award or strip teams of draft picks. In extreme cases, the commissioner can offer recommendations to the NFL's executive committee, up to and including the "cancellation or forfeiture" of
23055-444: The world by revenue and the sports league with the most valuable teams. The NFL also has the highest average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. The Super Bowl is also among the most-watched sporting events in the world, with the individual games accounting for many of the most watched television programs in American history and all occupying
23214-458: The world. Each NFL season begins annually with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season , which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week . Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference, including four division winners and three wild card teams, advance to the playoffs ,
23373-420: Was announced that Williams would no longer be singing the theme song, and that "All My Rowdy Friends" would no longer be used as its theme, as Williams still owns the song. A statement from ESPN said that the network has "decided to part ways with Hank Williams Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years. The success of MNF has always been about the games and that will continue." Williams commented on
23532-426: Was declared the champion; the only tiebreaker was that in the event of a tie if two teams played twice in a season, the result of the second game determined the title (the source of the 1921 controversy). This method had been used since the league's creation in 1920, but no situation had been encountered where two teams were tied for first. The league quickly determined that a playoff game between Chicago and Portsmouth
23691-479: Was delayed 25 minutes; the second delay, prior to the October 11 contest against the Minnesota Vikings , lasted for 40 minutes. Prior to the September 13 game, the last ESPN telecast to encounter weather problems was on October 4, 1998 (a Sunday night) when lightning halted a game between the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter. The first delay forced ESPN to use ESPN2 for
23850-424: Was elected as commissioner to succeed Rozelle; his 17-year tenure, which ended in 2006, was marked by large increases in television contracts and the addition of four expansion teams, as well as the introduction of league initiatives to increase the number of minorities in league and team management roles. The league's current Commissioner, Roger Goodell , has focused on reducing the number of illegal hits and making
24009-732: Was expanded to allow CBS, NBC, and ESPN/ABC to stream games on their respective over-the-top streaming services. For each of the packages the respective network partners currently hold, ESPN/ABC is paying US$ 2.7 billion a year; CBS, Fox, and NBC are each paying more than US$ 2 billion a year; and Amazon is paying US$ 1 billion a year. The current deal runs through the 2033 season. The league also has deals with Spanish-language broadcasters NBC Universo , Fox Deportes , and ESPN Deportes , which air Spanish language dubs of their respective English-language sister networks' games. The league's contracts do not cover preseason games, which individual teams are free to sell to local stations directly;
24168-409: Was identical to that used in 2009, except for the final scenes. This time, Williams Jr. turns a wheel filled with paint, with CGI colors blasting into the air, revealing the helmets containing logos of the participating teams – which stay on top of the building. In one other minor difference, the chapter numbers in the "book" were changed from Roman to Arabic numerals . Gifford provided new vignettes and
24327-433: Was implemented in 1933 that culminated with the NFL Championship Game until 1966. Following an agreement to merge the NFL with the rival American Football League (AFL), the Super Bowl was first held in 1967 to determine a champion between the best teams from the two leagues and has remained as the final game of each NFL season since the merger was completed in 1970. The NFL is the wealthiest professional sports league in
24486-440: Was named the permanent solo sideline reporter for the 2012 season. In addition, color commentator Ron Jaworski did not return to the booth after 5 seasons. As a result, Jon Gruden became the solo color commentator, with MNF going back to a two-man booth for the first time since its final season on ABC (2005). MNF ' s opening graphic sequence, which showed the helmet logos of the game's two participating NFL teams and then
24645-426: Was needed to decide the league's champion. The teams were originally scheduled to play the playoff game, officially a regular-season game that would count towards the regular season standings, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, but a combination of heavy snow and extreme cold forced the game to be moved indoors to Chicago Stadium , which did not have a regulation-size football field. Playing with altered rules to accommodate
24804-629: Was rescinded in 1946 , following public pressure and coinciding with the removal of a similar ban in Major League Baseball . The NFL was always the largest professional football league in the United States; it nevertheless faced numerous rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), on top of various regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these rival leagues;
24963-550: Was revealed that these simulcasts would expand starting with the 2022 season . To accommodate the expanded simulcasts, ABC announced that Dancing with the Stars would move to Disney+ for its 31st season only. The network later announced that DWTS returned to ABC and simulcast on Disney+ after one year and moved to Tuesdays permanently. On September 18, 2023, amid the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes , ABC announced that it would simulcast Monday Night Football during each week of
25122-464: Was the first national broadcast to announce his death. An ABC advertisement for MNF featuring Nicollette Sheridan of Desperate Housewives dropping her towel in front of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens created some controversy, including at least 1,997 complaints being sent to the FCC and outrage from FCC chairman Michael Powell . The Walt Disney Company , owner of ABC and
25281-438: Was waived on November 2. The opening sequence for the 2011 season was set in a closed-studio setting, with Hank Williams Jr. (in his 23rd year) performing with a band with members such as Jimi K Bones from KIX and Blondie , The House Jacks , and Jenny Morrison ( bass guitar ), Chris King ( trumpet ), Clay Lucovich ( trombone ), and Florizel Dennis ( baritone saxophone ) from Orlando, Florida ska band Tef London, in front of
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