Super Bowl LX is many months away, with the decisive clash of the 2025 NFL season set to take place on the 8th of February next year. The Levi’s Stadium, in Santa Clara, California will be doing the honours this time around. Home to the San Francisco 49ers since it opened in 2014, it will see just under 70,000 in the hugely expensive stands – the impressive stadium cost around $2bn to build (based on current prices).
Many of the fans inside on the big day will hope to watch the 49ers, but the San Francisco franchise performed surprisingly badly last season. They were among the favourites at around this time last year but ended up rock bottom of the NFC West with a record of 6-11. Super Bowl LIX ended up being contested by the “three-peat” seeking Kansas City Chiefs, and the Philadelphia Eagles and it was the latter who came out on top, rather easily in the end.
Can the 49ers redeem themselves with glory at home? Can the Eagles defend their title? Will the Chiefs continue to build their dynasty by making it to the last two for the sixth time in seven seasons? Read on, as we take a look at those questions, plus the key dates for the upcoming NFL season.
What Has Happened So Far?
We have already detailed the most important date, the one that all fans dream will matter to them and their side. The 8th of February is when the next Super Bowl will take place but there is an awful lot taking place before that.
Back in March the 2025 season officially and technically began then player trading commenced. A number of deals involving unrestricted free agents, essentially out-of-contract players, have already taken place. Some of the biggest deals involve the likes of quarterbacks such as Sam Darnold (Minnesota to Seattle), Justin Fields (Steelers to the Jets) and Aaron Rodgers, who made the reverse move to Fields. Other interesting deals include Davante Adams going from the Jets to the LA Rams, Carlton Davis going from Detroit to New England and the Vikings bringing in Jonathan Allen from Washington to stiffen up their line.
There are far too many moves to list them all, whilst at around the same time several trades were made, where players moved as part of a swap for picks in the draft. There have also been several retirements, with Jason Peters, who won Super Bowl LII with the Eagles one of the highest profile.
The draft took place in April, between the 24th and the 26th, with Tennessee getting first pick and signing QB Cam Ward. There are far too many picks to cover here but the Jaguars picked up Travis Hunter with the second overall. Hunter, a cornerback and wide receiver, won the 2024 Heisman Trophy, so is clearly one to watch.
Dates for the Diary
Now that franchises have assembled their squads, we can move on to the dates to mark in your diary for the months ahead. Pre-season gets started with the Hall of Fame Game, on the 31st of July, with the LA Chargers set to the Detroit Lions in Ohio. Pre-season proper then takes up most of August, running from the 7th to the 23rd.
After that, the wait is just about over, and NFL fans can look forward to the start of the regular season on the 4th of September. The kick-off game sees Dallas meet the defending champions in Philly. As usual, it is an 18-week deal, with each team playing 17 times and having one rest week. The final set of clashes will take place around the 4th of January and as has been the case since 2010 will be intra-division affairs.
Before that, we will have the traditional Thanksgiving Day games, with three this year, including the Chiefs at Dallas, Green Bay at Detroit and the Bengals at the Ravens. Unusually, due to Christmas Day being on a Thursday, we also see clashes on the 25th, perfect for escaping the extended family!
Heading into 2026 we will see the post-season, which runs from the Wild Card round through to the Super Bowl. The former will be held on the 10th, 11th and 12th of January, with Divisional play-offs on the 17th and 18th. A week after that, on the 25th, we will have the Championship games to savour before a two-week break and then Super Bowl LX!
More International Games than Ever
NFL fans around the world have a better chance than ever before to take in some live action. That is because this year there will be seven matches as part of the International Series. That is a record, even though owners voted to allow as many as eight.
London will host three of those, with all seven contests detailed below:
- London – 5th October, Vikings v Browns; 12th October, Broncos v Jets; 19th October, Rams v Jaguars
- Brazil – 5th September, Chiefs v Chargers
- Dublin – 28th September, Vikings v Steelers
- Germany – 9th November, Falcons v Colts
- Madrid – 16th November, Commanders v Dolphins
But Who Will Make It to the Super Bowl?
It is not unusual for the Super Bowl betting to be tight, with no clear favourite. The draft system helps with that, whilst it is a relatively unpredictable sport in general, especially once we get to the nitty gritty of the post-season. However, in 2025 things are perhaps a little tighter than usual and as things stand bookmakers are struggling to separate four teams at the top.
Both of last year’s Super Bowl participants, as well as the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens, are all priced at odds of around 7/1. The Lions are next at 10/1 and then we have quite a jump up to the 49ers and a host of other franchises out at 20/1 or more.
So, then, according to the firms who risk money taking the bets on matters, this looks very much like a five-horse race. Of course, given their brilliant recent record and the excellence of Patrick Mahomes, many will find it hard to look past the Chiefs. However, we have a feeling that the 49ers can put last year firmly behind them and might just make it a home Super Bowl to remember.