August is a weird time for sports fans. It’s hot. It's humid. Honestly, it feels like a desert for anyone who doesn't care about mid-season baseball. But then, you see it—the first whiff of grass being mowed at a local high school or that specific "chink" of pads hitting in a televised practice. Suddenly, everyone starts asking the same thing: when is the start of football season?
It's not just one date. Not even close. If you’re looking for a simple answer, you’re gonna be disappointed because "football" is a massive umbrella that covers everything from Friday night lights to the multi-billion dollar machine that is the NFL.
The NFL Kickoff: Why Thursday Night is the Holy Grail
The NFL is a creature of habit. For years, the league has planted its flag on the Thursday following Labor Day. For 2026, that puts the official start of the NFL regular season on September 10.
But wait.
The Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, usually happens way back in early August. It’s usually a sloppy affair. Starters don't play. You're basically watching guys who will be selling insurance in three weeks. Yet, millions watch. Why? Because it represents the end of the drought. If you're counting the preseason, the start of football season actually hits your TV screen in the first week of August.
The defending Super Bowl champions always host that first Thursday night game. It’s a spectacle. There’s a concert. There’s a banner drop. It’s loud. Then, the rest of the league follows suit on Sunday, September 13, 2026. This is where the chaos happens—the 1:00 PM ET window where eight games are happening at once and your fantasy team is already stressing you out.
Don't Ignore the "Week 0" Hype in College Football
College football is different. It’s more chaotic.
While the NFL waits for September, college football enthusiasts have embraced something called "Week 0." This is basically a soft launch for the season, often featuring international games or unique matchups that wouldn't get much airtime otherwise. In 2026, Week 0 is slated for August 29.
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Why do they do this? Money. TV networks want a head start. They know we are desperate. If you put a game between two mid-major schools on a Saturday in late August, we will watch it like it’s the Rose Bowl.
The "real" start for most big conferences—the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC—happens over Labor Day weekend. This is "Week 1." It’s a four-day marathon. You have games on Thursday night, Friday night, a massive Saturday slate, and usually a high-profile neutral-site game on Sunday and Monday. It is, quite literally, a sensory overload of marching bands and questionable officiating.
When Is the Start of Football Season for Local Communities?
We focus so much on the pros and the big colleges that we forget where the game actually starts: the high schools.
High school football schedules are a mess of geography. If you live in Texas or Georgia, your start of football season might be mid-August. They take it seriously there. In some northern states, they might wait an extra week to avoid the tail end of the summer heat, though climate shifts are making "heat acclimation" periods a mandatory part of the late July calendar now.
Most high schools aim for the last Friday in August. There’s nothing like it. The smell of concession stand popcorn and the sound of a local drumline—that’s the real start of the season for most of the country.
The Training Camp Factor
If you’re a die-hard fan, the season doesn’t start with a kickoff. It starts with a tweet about a "source" saying a star player showed up to camp in the "best shape of his life."
- NFL Training Camps: Usually open in mid-to-late July.
- The "Acclimation Period": The first few days where they can't wear pads.
- The First Padded Practice: This is the first day of real football.
Watching camp highlights is a sickness. We analyze a five-second clip of a wide receiver running a route against air and decide he’s going to the Pro Bowl. It's a rite of passage. By the time the actual start of football season arrives in September, we’ve already convinced ourselves our teams are going 17-0.
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Sorting Through the Dates (2026 Outlook)
To keep your head on straight, you sort of have to categorize these starts.
High school ball generally kicks off Friday, August 28, 2026. College "Week 0" lands on Saturday, August 29. The massive College Week 1 starts September 3 and runs through Labor Day. Finally, the NFL regular season formally begins September 10.
It’s a rolling launch. Like a rocket.
One thing people often overlook is the CFL (Canadian Football League). If you are truly desperate for football, the CFL season actually starts in June. June! While we are all complaining about the MLB All-Star break, there is professional football happening up north. It’s a different game—three downs, bigger field, more motion—but it counts.
Why the Start Date Keeps Creeping Earlier
There is a noticeable trend of football trying to eat the entire calendar.
We now have the UFL (the merger of the XFL and USFL) which plays in the spring. This has fundamentally changed the answer to "when is the start of football season?" because, for some fans, the season ended in February and started back up in March.
But for the purists, the fall is the only thing that matters. The creeping start dates are driven entirely by television contracts. Networks like ESPN, FOX, and CBS have billion-dollar holes to fill. They know that even a bad football game outdraws almost anything else. So, they push for Week 0. They push for Thursday night games in October for high schools. They want football 365 days a year if they can get it.
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Preparing for the Kickoff
Knowing when the season starts is only half the battle. You have to be ready.
I’m talking about the logistics. Have you checked your streaming subscriptions lately? Since the NFL and College Football have split their rights across a dozen different apps—Peacock, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, ESPN+, and the local channels—you basically need a PhD in digital media to find a game.
Most people spend the first two weeks of the season just trying to figure out which remote to use. Don't be that person. Sort it out in August.
Actionable Steps for the 2026 Season
To make sure you don't miss the start of football season, here is what you need to do right now.
First, mark August 29, 2026, on your calendar. That’s your college "soft launch." Even if you don't like the teams playing in Week 0, turn it on. It sets the mood. It gets the TV settings right.
Second, check your local high school's athletic website. Most people forget that these games are the cheapest and often most exciting entertainment in town. Find the date for the first home game—usually August 28—and go. Bring five bucks for a hot dog.
Third, if you’re an NFL fan, don't just wait for the first game. The week before the season starts is when the final roster cuts happen. This is the "transactional" start of the season. Thousands of players will be looking for jobs on September 1 and 2. Following the waiver wire is how you find out if your team actually has a backup offensive line or if you're in for a long year.
Lastly, audit your tech. Make sure your YouTube TV or Sunday Ticket subscription is active before the Thursday night opener. Nothing ruins the start of the season like a "password incorrect" screen while the opening kickoff is mid-air.
Football is more than just a game in this country; it's a seasonal marker. It’s the transition from summer to fall. When that first whistle blows in late August or early September, everything feels right again.