when does the nfl regular season start

The NFL regular season for 2025 starts on Thursday, September 4, 2025. The traditional season kickoff game will feature the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys at 8:20 p.m. ET. Following this, the rest of the league begins play over the weekend with the full schedule spanning 18 weeks during which each of the 32 teams plays 17 games with one bye week. This kickoff tradition happens the Thursday after Labor Day each year.