I was curious about some important dates and deadlines in the NFL and I found an article from back in March detailing all the dates for the post-2014 season until after Superbowl 50 in 2016. I decided rather than linking the article, I'd just copy/paste the relevant dates going forward. If you want to give the source article page views, that would be great. All information was obtained from here: http://atp.patsfans.com/2015/03/16/2015-nfl-calendar-with-key-dates-deadlines-and-events-for-the-new-england-patriots/
I tried to only include league dates and not Patriots specific dates.
Since this info came from a Patriots fan site, I'm guessing all times listed below are EST so plan accordingly.
Tue Aug 4: Deadline for players under contract to report to their clubs to earn an accrued season.
Tue Aug 4: Deadline for teams to trade rights for unsigned drafted rookies.
If a drafted rookie has not signed with his club by this date, he cannot be traded to any other club in 2015, and may sign a player contract only with the drafting club until the day of the draft in the 2016 League Year.
Sat Aug 8: NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Canton OH, 7:00 PM (NFLN); 2015 inductees are running back Jerome Bettis, wide receiver/returner Tim Brown, defensive end/linebacker Charles Haley, contributor Bill Polian, linebacker Junior Seau, guard Will Shields, center Mick Tingelhoff, and contributor Ron Wolf.
Sun Aug 9: Hall of Fame Game (first preseason game); Pittsburgh Steelers vs Minnesota Vikings; Canton OH, 8:00 PM (NBC)
Aug 12-17: NFL preseason week one
Aug 19-24: NFL preseason week two
Aug 26-31: NFL preseason week three
Tues Sept 1: First roster cut down: clubs must reduce their rosters to a maximum of 75 players on the Active List by 4:00 PM.
Wed Sept 2: All tryouts on this date and for the remainder of the season must be reported to the league.
Thur Sept 3: NFL preseason week four
Sat Sept 5: Final roster cut down: clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 53 players on the Active/Inactive List by 6:00 PM.
Sat Sept 5: Teams with players in the categories of Active/Physically Unable to Perform or Active/Non-Football Injury or Illness must select one of the following options:
* (a) place player on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform or Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable;
* (b) request waivers;
* (c) terminate contract;
* (d) trade contract; or
* (e) continue to count the player on the Active List, as of 6:00 PM.
Sun Sept 6: Final day of preseason training camp for all clubs.
Sun Sept 6: Claiming period for players placed on waivers at the final roster reduction expires, 12 noon.
Sun Sept 6: Once players have cleared waivers, teams may establish a practice squad of eight players by signing free agents who do not have an accrued season of free agency credit or who were on the 46-player active list for less than nine regular-season games; a player cannot be on a practice squad for more than three seasons; 12 noon.
Mon Sept 7: Teams are now permitted to place one player on reserve/injured as “designated for return”, 4:00 pm.
Tue Sept 8: Deadline for all NFL player contracts, practice player contracts, tender offers and miscellaneous amounts to fit within each club’s 2014 salary cap in anticipation of the midnight expiration of the Top 51 Rule.
Wed Sept 9: Top 51 Rule expires for all teams at 12:00 am (midnight Wednesday night/Thursday morning); full salary cap is now enforced.
Thu Sept 10: NFL season kicks off
Sept 10-14: Week 1 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Sept 17-21: Week 2 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Sept 24-28: Week 3 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Tue Sept 29: Waiver change. Beginning on the Tuesday following the third weekend of regular season games, the claiming priority is based on the inverse order of the standing of clubs in the current season’s games.
Oct 1-5: Week 4 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Oct 8-12: Week 5 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Oct 15-19: Week 6 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Tue Oct 20: PUP return – beginning the day after the conclusion of the sixth regular season weekend and continuing through the day after the conclusion of the eleventh regular season weekend, clubs are permitted to begin practicing players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform and Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness for a period not to exceed 21 days. Players may be activated during the 21-day practice period or prior to 4:00 on the day after the conclusion of the 21-day period.
Oct 22-26: Week 7 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Oct 29-Nov 2: Week 8 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Tue Nov 3: Trade Deadline, 4:00 pm
Nov 5-9: Week 9 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Nov 12-16: Week 10 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Nov 19-23: Week 11 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Thur Nov 26: Thanksgiving Day games, commemorating the third anniversary of the Butt-Fumble
Nov 26-30: Week 12 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Dec 3-7: Week 13 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Dec 10-14: Week 14 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Dec 17-21: Week 15 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Dec 24-28: Week 16 of the 2015 NFL regular season
Sat Jan 2, 2016: Salary cap rollover – clubs must provide the Management Council with written notice, signed by the individual club’s owner, indicating the amount, if any, of the club’s 2015 league year salary cap room to be credited to the club’s 2016 team salary.
Sun Jan 3, 2016: All NFL week 17 games
Mon Jan 4, 2016: Futures/Reserves Contracts – teams whose seasons have ended can sign free agents to 2016 contracts (i.e., practice squad players)
Mon Jan 4, 2016: Fifth Year Option – Earliest permissible date for clubs to renegotiate or extend the rookie contract of a drafted rookie who was selected in any round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Any permissible renegotiated or extended player contract will not be considered a rookie contract, and will not be subject to the rules that limit rookie contracts.
Mon Jan 4, 2016: Option exercise period begins for Fifth-Year Option for first-round selections from the 2012 NFL Draft. To exercise the option, the club must give written notice to the player on or after December 29, 2015 but prior to May 3, 2016.
Jan 4-10, 2016: Assistant coaches that are under contract to playoff clubs that have byes in the Wild Card weekend may be interviewed for head coaching positions through the conclusion of the Wild Card games.
Sat-Sun Jan 9-10, 2016: Wild Card Playoff Games
Jan 9-17, 2016: Assistant coaches that are under contract to playoff clubs that won their Wild Card games may be interviewed for head coaching positions through the conclusion of Division Round Playoff games.
Sat-Sun Jan 16-17, 2016: Division Round Playoff Games
Sat Jan 16, 2016: East-West Shrine Game, Tropicana Stadium, St. Petersburg FL
Sun Jan 24, 2016: AFC Championship Game, 3:00 PM (CBS)
Sun Jan 24, 2016: NFC Championship Game, 6:30 PM (FOX)
Sat Jan 30, 2016: Senior Bowl, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile AL
Sun Jan 31, 2016: Pro Bowl (ESPN)
Sun Jan 31, 2016: An assistant coach whose team is participating in the Super Bowl, who has previously interviewed for another club’s head coaching job, may have a second interview with such club no later than the Sunday preceding the Super Bowl.
Sun Feb 7, 2016: Super Bowl 50; Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA; 6:30 pm on CBS
Mon Feb 8, 2016: Waiver system begins for 2014. A 24-hour claiming period will be in effect through the Friday prior to the last regular season game (waivers requests made on Friday and Saturday of each week will expire at 4:00 p.m. on the following Monday.) Players with at least four previous pension-credited seasons whom a club desires to terminate are not subject to the waiver system until after the trading deadline.
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[–] chubnubbin 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
Preseason starts August 8 aka next weekend???
[–] ShagginTurtles 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
My birthday is on NFL Preseason Week 3! Now it'll be overshadowed on my calendar :(
[–] Maskedsaturn 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Could be worse, Nothing ever happens on my birthday, and my sister's birthday has landed on the Super Bowl at least once so far.
[–] ShagginTurtles 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
That's fair, as a kid I always hated being born on labour day weekend because no one was home :(
Now I love having a Birthday at the end of the summer
[–] [deleted] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
[–] LegoMyEgo [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Thanks for the upvote, but I can't take credit for the material. I only copy/pasted and formatted it a little better.