Are you ready for some football? The NFL regular season starts tomorrow night and we can see the excitement written all over your face. Don’t worry, even if you’re not planning to watch one game, we have you covered so you can still talk shop with the best of them.
Huddle up,
The Last Night’s Game Team
PS – We are working on a football FAQ to answer all of your curious football questions. Stay tuned! Have one you want us to answer? Email us!
Five things to know about the 2016 NFL season
- The season is longer than Taylor Swift’s last relationship - it starts in September and ends with the Super Bowl, which is typically the first Sunday in February. Over 17.6 million fans saw a game in person last season.
- This year, four regular season NFL games will be played outside of the U.S. with three games in Europe and and one in Mexico City. There’s an agreement in place to play a game in China in 2018.
- NFL does not have fully guaranteed contracts like the NBA and MLB where a player’s contracts states they will receive the full amount no matter what. Football players play one of the most demanding sports but they can face a career ending injury and not be paid out the contract balance. Although some players have been able to negotiate in a cushion. For example, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck signed a six-year, $120 million deal; of that $87 million guaranteed.
- The NFL was a tax exempt organization from 1942-2015 despite the fact that television rights fees, licensing agreements, sponsorships, ticket sales and other revenue earned by the 32 teams were all taxed. Dropping this status means that the NFL will no longer have to disclose important financial information such as Commissioner Roger Goodell’s $44 million salary.
- According to Vegas Insider, these teams are the favorites to win Super Bowl 51 :
- New England Patriots
- Green Bay Packers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Carolina Panthers
NFL (National Football League)
- Here we go! The NFL season will kick off tomorrow night with a rematch of Super Bowl 50. The Carolina Panthers will take on Denver Broncos in Denver. Tune in to see if Cam Newton will be giving away footballs to kids or if Super Bowl MVP Von Miller will be dancing his way to victory.
- Slap in the face. Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman has been an analyst for FOX NFL since 2001. Despite his tenure, FOX signed Aikman’s nemesis Skip Bayless for his own show this fall. Aikman and Bayless have a history of bad blood stemming from the time Bayless claimed in his book that Aikman was gay - without any proof. "To say I’m disappointed in the hiring of Skip Bayless would be an enormous understatement,” Aikman said.
- Quick recovery. Houston Texans standout defensive player JJ Watt has been cleared to play in week one after undergoing back surgery in July.
Overtime
- UFC’s Miesha Tate flexed her muscles for good over the weekend. She was hiking Nevada’s Mt. Charleston when she came across a little girl, Kai, who had broken her arm while hiking with her mom. Mom was struggling to get Kai down the mountain so Tate picked her up and carried her down the rest of the two-mile trail. Afterward, there was no shortage of mutual love going on between the two on social media.
Sideline stat
- Serena Williams won her 308th career tennis match on Monday becoming the winningest player in Grand Slam history. Serena will face Simona Halep tonight in the quarterfinals.
Coaches’ corner
- It takes a strong woman to be the head coach of the house during football season and the NFL has its fair share of celebrity power couples who do just that.
- Singer Ciara and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson
- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and model Giselle Bündchen
- TV star and designer Kristin (Cavallari) Cutler and Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler
- New York Jets receiver Eric Decker and singer Jessie James Decker
- Actress Olivia Munn and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers
