2025/26 NFL Season: Dates, teams, schedule and history

Everything you need to know ahead of the 2025/26 NFL season as the Philadelphia Eagles bid to make a successful defence of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

2025/26 NFL Season - Dates

When does the 2025/26 NFL season start?

The 2025/26 NFL season runs from Thursday 4th September 2025 until Sunday 8th February 2026, when the Super Bowl will be held in Santa Clara, California.

When do the 2025/26 NFL playoffs start?

The post-season action begins with the wild-card round from 10th-12th January, 2026, followed by the divisional round from 17th-18th January, 2026 and the AFC and NFC Championship games on 25th January, 2026.

When is the 2026 Super Bowl?

The 2026 Super Bowl will be contested at the Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on 8th February, 2025.

2025/26 NFL Season - Teams

The 32 NFL teams are unchanged for the 2025/26 regular season.

The last new addition to the league were the Houston Texans, who were formed when the NFL moved to a format of eight four-team divisions back in 2002.

2025/26 NFL Season - Schedule

The NFL regular season consists of 18 weeks, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week, which are included in the schedule from Week 5 through to Week 14.

The eight division winners and six wild-card teams will form the 14-team field for the playoffs.

NFL Champions

Who won the 2025 Super Bowl?

The Philadelphia Eagles are the current NFL champions having romped to a resounding 40-22 victory over Kansas City Chiefs in 2025.

Jalen Hurts, who threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns as well as rushing 72 yards for one touchdown, was named as MVP as the Eagles avenged their 2023 loss and denied the Chiefs a first ever NFL three-peat.

NFL History

The NFL began in the 1920s with its current name of the National Football League first being used in 1922.

The modern era of the game is widely considered to have begun in 1970 following the merger of the American Football League and National Football League.

The leagues had met in four NFL Championship games before that, starting on January 15th, 1967 when the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.

The NFL expanded from 26 teams to 28 in 1976, to 30 in 1995, to 31 in 1999 and to the current number of 32 teams in 2002.

View the latest NFL Championship odds on site.

Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.