NFL schedule release date 2024: When to expect an announcement, strength of schedule & more

Just about every major tentpole on the NFL calendar follows a certain cycle. Fans already know when the 2024 season will begin, when Super Bowl 59 will be played, and even when the 2025 NFL Draft will be held.

One exception is the NFL's annual schedule release. It takes time for the league to determine the ins and outs of each team's schedule, so a date for the actual reveal isn't set until late in the process.

Nevertheless, the schedule release has become a football holiday of sorts in recent years. As the NFL grows in popularity, fans are increasingly excited to learn where and when their teams will be playing. The 2024 NFL schedule will reveal which games will get the prime-time treatment and which matchups will start the season in Week 1.

Here's what you need to know about when the 2024 NFL schedule will be released.

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NFL schedule release 2024

• Date: Wednesday, May 15
• Time: 8 p.m. ET
• TV channel: NFL Network, ESPN2

The NFL officially announced its 2024 schedule release will take place on Wednesday, May 15 at 8 p.m. ET.

Originally, many believed the NFL would release its schedule on Thursday, May 11. The league had released its schedule on the second Thursday of May in each of the previous seasons, so it made sense the league would want to stick to that timeline.

Instead, the NFL had to wait about a week longer before revealing the order of its 2024 matchups. It isn't clear exactly why that was the case — perhaps the team's plans to play games on Christmas Day despite it being on a Wednesday were to blame for the delay — but either way, fans will soon know the schedules of their favorite NFL teams.

The schedule release will be broadcast on NFL Network and ESPN2, as it was last year.

Who has the hardest NFL schedule in 2024?

The schedule release will tell fans where and when their team will be playing in 2024, but teams already know their opponents for the upcoming season. That's better news for some teams than others.

Based strictly on 2023 winning percentage, the Browns have the NFL's hardest schedule in 2024. Cleveland's opponents had a combined .547 winning percentage last season, buoyed by the success of AFC North rivals in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati. The Browns also have the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Dolphins on their schedule in 2024, though they host all three. 

With the Steelers' quarterback situation potentially more stable and Joe Burrow returning for Cincinnati, the path forward for the Browns may be even more difficult than that .547 mark indicates.

Here's a complete look at the Browns' home and away opponents in 2024. 

Who has the easiest NFL schedule in 2024?

Based on 2023 winning percentage, the Falcons and Saints share the easiest 2024 schedule. Atlanta and New Orleans both face opponents who had a combined .453 winning percentage in 2023, aided by the reality of a weak NFC South.

Here's a look at the opponents the Saints and Falcons will face in 2024.

Saints

Falcons

2024 NFL strength of schedule rankings

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How is the NFL schedule determined?

If you believe your team has a difficult or easy schedule, no one is to blame. The NFL schedule makers only determine when teams play the games, not which opponents they face. That's determined by a set of rules, and it's why each team already knows its home and away opponents for 2024.

The NFL uses this formula to put together each team's schedule:

1. Each team plays six divisional games, facing each divisional opponent three times at home and three times on the road (six games).
2. Each team faces all four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle (four games).
3. Each team faces all four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle (four games)
4. Each team faces two more intraconference opponents based on the prior year’s standings. For example, because the Browns already play the entire AFC North and AFC West in 2024, they face the teams in the AFC South and AFC East that finished in the same spot in the standings as Cleveland did (second) the previous season. In their case, it's the Dolphins and Jaguars (two games).
5. Each team plays one additional game against a team from the other conference based on the prior year's standings on a rotating four-year cycle. These games match a first-place team from one division against a first-place team in an opposite conference division that the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place, and fourth-place teams in each division are similarly paired. The home conference for this game rotates each season (one game).