When will the 2024 NFL Schedule be released?

The 2024 NFL Schedule is going to be released later this month, and we now have an official date. First reported by Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, the NFL schedule will be released at 8pm EST on May 15th, which is a Wednesday.

"The full 2024 NFL schedule is slated to be released at 8pm ET on May 15, six days after teams were originally expecting it, according to a league memo sent this afternoon.

The memo from NFL EVP/Media Distribution Hans Schroeder did not give a reason for the delay. The schedule release had not been officially announced yet, and the league always maintains a degree of flexibility considering the complex nature of developing the schedule. But some teams had been told informally it was coming Thursday.

Schroeder wrote that more details about activations or other nuances of the plan were expected in the coming days. The league and media rights holders sometimes announce specific high-profile matchups before the full slate is unveiled.

The schedule release has become a key priority for teams and the league in recent years, with teams preparing increasingly sophisticated schedule social content and using it as a starting point for single-game ticket sales."

- Ben Fischer

The schedule was widely expected to come out on May 9th, which is this Thursday, but as Fischer notes, the league did not provide a reason for the delay. Anyway, we'll have official word on the upcoming year's schedule in the middle of the month. One very fun thing about the schedule release, as Fisher notes, is the content that the NFL teams put out to promote their own slate of games.

The Los Angeles Chargers might be the best example of how to promote something. In 2023, they made their schedule release promotional video into an anime, and it is truly glorious:

This is how it's done. Teams will put their own spin on the schedule release, but I suppose the delay can give them more time to put out the best possible content. And for fans of the game, getting official word on the schedule is great information to have. Primetime games, bye weeks, and everything in between is made public. Fans may also need the times and dates for their own traveling purposes as well.

We now have an official date. May 15th at 8pm EST is when the NFL schedule comes out for 2024.