The National Football League exhibition season refers to the NFL's pre-season games before the NFL regular season starts. Each NFL team plays four exhibition games.
Exhibition Season
Summers see most NFL teams playing four exhibition games (referred to by the NFL as "preseason games;" the league discourages the use of the term "exhibition game") from early August through early September. Two "featured" preseason games, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game and American Bowl, do not count toward the normal allotment of four games, so the four teams playing in those games each end up playing five exhibition games.
The games are useful for new players that are not used to playing in front of very large crowds. Management often uses the games to evaluate newly signed players. Veteran players will generally play only for about a quarter of each game so they can avoid injury.
Still, pro football is popular enough that many fans are still willing to pay full price for exhibition games so that they may guarantee themselves a seat during the season. This is evidenced by the fact that many teams are sold out on a season ticket basis and have large waiting lists where people are willing to pay a one-time or annual fee for the privilege of remaining on the waiting list.
Although several exhibition games are broadcast nationally, most are broadcast by local television stations. Exhibition games are almost exclusively played at night due to hot summer weather, and are frequently scheduled based on local convenience (e.g. games on the west coast tend to start at 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET).
Controversy
Currently, every NFL team requires their season ticket holders to purchase tickets at full price for two preseason games as a requirement to purchase regular season tickets. Complaints regarding this policy have gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but have failed to change the policy. A judgment in 1974 stated: "No fewer than five lawsuits have been instituted from Dallas to New England, each claiming that the respective National Football League (NFL) team had violated the Sherman Act by requiring an individual who wishes to purchase a season ticket for all regular season games to buy, in addition, tickets for one or more exhibition or preseason games." [1]
Additionally, some players, coaches, and journalists object to the 4 week preseason schedule. Players have little incentive to play in the preseason, since they do not get paid extra for these games, and thus are essentially playing them "for free". In spite of this, the risk of injury during the preseason is just as great as during the regular season. Nearly every year, marquee players are lost for the season due to injuries in exhibition games. In spite of these objections, owners continue to endorse the four game preseason, as they are an easy source of revenue, and thus are unlikely to go away in the foreseeable future. [2]