Schedule Rotation

The regular season scheduling rotation has been determined for the 2002 through 2009 seasons under the club-approved realignment plan that will take effect next season. As a result, the matchups for 14 of the 16 regular-season games for all clubs for each of these eight seasons are now fixed and known.

The importance of scheduling was discussed extensively with all clubs in the many meetings devoted to realignment over the past few years. The schedule rotation we are announcing reflects a commitment discussed at last May's League Meeting to match displaced teams against their old rivals as soon as possible.

The intraconference and interconference divisional rotation for the next eight seasons will take each team through a cycle of games -- home and away -- against every other team in the league. In these eight seasons, every team will play every other team at least twice  once home and once away. Following the 2009 season, a decision will be made on whether to continue with the same rotation or modify it.

This formula will eliminate the many aberrations of the past in which teams either did not play for long periods of time or did not play in another team's stadium for many years.

In deciding how to begin the divisional rotation in 2002, the displacement of teams from their old divisions in the new alignment was taken into account. Preference was given to scheduling games with former division rivals and other attractive opponents for clubs realigned from otherwise intact divisions.

For example, in 2002 the new NFC West will play the AFC West to match Seattle with its old rivals from the AFC West (Denver, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego). The NFC West also will play the NFC East in order to match Arizona with its old NFC East rivals (Dallas, New York Giants, Philadelphia, Washington).

Also in 2002, the AFC North and AFC South are matched so that Jacksonville and Tennessee will play their former rivals from the old AFC Central (Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh). The NFC North and NFC South pairing in 2002 will give Tampa Bay games against its former NFC Central rivals (Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota).

Other regional 2002 matchups include Dallas visiting Houston in the Texans' inaugural season (NFC East vs. AFC South) and San Francisco at Oakland (NFC West vs. AFC West).

Games matching other previous division rivals or regional rivals that could not be scheduled in 2002 were put into the rotation as early as possible. Indianapolis will play its former AFC East rivals (Buffalo, New England, New York Jets, Miami) in 2003 with the AFC East-AFC South matchup. The New York Jets will host the New York Giants in 2003 when the AFC East plays the NFC East. San Francisco and St. Louis will meet their old NFC West rivals (Atlanta, Carolina, New Orleans) in 2004 when the NFC West and NFC South meet.

Some of the positive aspects of the new scheduling format:

• There will be an increased common-opponent emphasis with every team in a division playing against 14 common opponents.
• All teams will play each other on a regular basis, home and away, for a more consistent presentation of attractive games, eliminating the many schedule aberrations of the past.
• Teams are guaranteed to play all nondivision opponents in their conference at least once every three years, and at home at least once every six years.
• Every AFC team will play every NFC team once every four years, and at home once every eight years.
• A team's record from the previous year will have less of a bearing on its schedule with only two (rather than four) opponents being based on the previous year's standing. Thus, the so-called easy fifth-place schedules are eliminated.
• The division in which a team resides will be less of a factor in a team's won-loss record with 10 of 16 games each year being against non-division teams.

Under the new scheduling formula, every team within a division will play 16 games as follows:

• Home and away against its three division opponents (6 games).
• The four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle (4 games).
• The four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle (4 games).
• Two intraconference games based on the prior year's standings (2 games). These games will match a first-place team against the first-place teams in the two same-conference divisions the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place, and fourth-place teams in a conference will be matched in the same way each year.