Changes

The season generally begins on the Thursday after [[Labor Day]] and concludes the week after [[Christmas]].  Most games are played on Sunday, with one or more games played on Monday and on Thursday as well.  Games are not played on Friday or Saturday during most of the season due to federal laws prohibiting NFL games competing with high school or college games; the league will play some Saturday games once the college football season ends and has very rarely played on Friday.

The season generally begins on the Thursday after [[Labor Day]] and concludes the week after [[Christmas]].  Most games are played on Sunday, with one or more games played on Monday and on Thursday as well.  Games are not played on Friday or Saturday during most of the season due to federal laws prohibiting NFL games competing with high school or college games; the league will play some Saturday games once the college football season ends and has very rarely played on Friday.

At season's end, seven teams from each conference (the winners of each division and three "wild-card" teams which are the teams in each conference with the best record among non-division winners), or 14 teams total, make the playoffs.  The remaining 18 teams, in strict reverse order of finish, receive the first 18 picks in each of the seven rounds of the subsequent NFL Draft (the NFL does not use a "lottery" system like the [[NBA]]), which can be freely traded between teams subject to league rules (or, if a team is disciplined for conduct, can be forfeited).

At season's end, seven teams from each conference (the winners of each division and three "wild-card" teams which are the teams in each conference with the best record among non-division winners), or 14 teams total, make the playoffs.  The remaining 18 teams, in strict reverse order of finish, receive the first 18 picks in each of the seven rounds of the subsequent NFL Draft (the NFL does not use a "lottery" system like the [[NBA]]), which can be freely traded between teams subject to league rules (or, if a team is disciplined for conduct, can be forfeited).  Teams are also awarded "compensatory" picks for players who sign as free agents with other teams; the picks are awarded at the end of rounds 3-6 depending on the salary paid to the former player.  Also in an attempt to create "racial diversity", teams who lose minority staff to other teams (as either head coaches or general managers) are awarded picks (third round, after free agent compensatory picks) for two consecutive years for one person, or three consecutive years for two or more persons.

The playoff teams are seeded in each conference as 1 (the division winner with the best record in the conference; that team gives a first-round bye and has home-field advantage through the conference championship), 2 through 4 (the next three division winners based on record; they will have home-field advantage against any lower-seeded opponent through the conference championship), and 5 through 7 (the three wild-card teams based on record; they will play their initial playoff games on the road and would only host a playoff game against a lower-seeded wild-card team with the 7 seed not able to host any games).  A division winner will always be seeded higher than a wild-card team even if the wild-card team has a better regular-season record.

The playoff teams are seeded in each conference as 1 (the division winner with the best record in the conference; that team gives a first-round bye and has home-field advantage through the conference championship), 2 through 4 (the next three division winners based on record; they will have home-field advantage against any lower-seeded opponent through the conference championship), and 5 through 7 (the three wild-card teams based on record; they will play their initial playoff games on the road and would only host a playoff game against a lower-seeded wild-card team with the 7 seed not able to host any games).  A division winner will always be seeded higher than a wild-card team even if the wild-card team has a better regular-season record.