2022 NFL Season: Odds and Offseason Headlines, What You Need To Know Before Kickoff
A handful of days separate us from the start of the NFL’s 2022 season. OK, OK, OK. It is preseason,

A handful of days separate us from the start of the NFL’s 2022 season. OK, OK, OK. It is preseason, but we can’t be the only ones aching for the return of the gridiron. Sure, we know the games don’t count and we aren’t likely to see any action from the starting lineup, but gosh darn it we will take it.
Believe it or not, the long wait is almost over pic.twitter.com/NaJ6wZC54B
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) July 28, 2022
Can’t you just see the yellow flags and team helmets being thrown in the air and the pads transforming the bodies of mere men to godlike heroes already? Yep, that is a rather romanticized description. For most, it’s summed up like this – football: hot wings, cold beers and win!
While we recgonize that the hardcore football fanatic is well versed in the changes, we wanted to help out the casual bystander. Ya know, the headlines that will catch up even the most peripheral of fans. The ones who put down their beer at the Super Bowl party in February and haven’t talked/seen football since.
Here is everything that you need to know going into the 2022 NFL Football Season… ahead of preseason kickoff.
Before Kickoff
Before we can talk about the pre or regular season 2022, we have to get you caught up on some pretty big transactions getting ready to take effect, and we aren’t just talking about the player rosters.
Broadcast networks, and their talent, are seeing the biggest changes thanks to a stadium sized deal that was made in March of 2021. The networks of FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC/ESPN along with the NFL struck a deal for broadcast rights that will take fans into the 2033 season. Yes, you read that right, 2033.
The deal includes a yearly rotation of the airing of the Super Bowl between the major four networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX) beginning with FOX for Super Bowl LIX in 2025. FOX will maintain its NFC games on Sundays but will no longer air Thursday Night Football. TNF will be airing exclusively on Amazon Prime. No need to check your glasses, that does indeed say Amazon, as in Prime Video.
The lineup for Thursday Night Football! (by @essilorusa)
— NFL (@NFL) May 13, 2021
: #NFLScheduleRelease live on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/mHgdeX4wgU
Prime Time Football Deliveries
Speaking of Prime, they are seeing quite possibly the biggest changes with respect to NFL broadcasts. Truth is they are the exclusive home of TNF (say whaaaat) and they are bringing with them a bonafide primetime football icon in the broadcasting booth. Legendary NFL announcer Al Michaels was lured from NBC and his home of Sunday Night Football to Amazon and Thursday Night Football. He, along with Kirk Herbstreit will begin calling games in week two of the regular season when the San Diego Chargers visit the Kansas City Chiefs on September 15th. Over at NBC Mike Tirico is filling the vacant seat left by Michaels and will call games on Sundays alongside Cris Collingsworth.
Welcome to Bristol, @Buck & @TroyAikman@ESPNNFL | #MNF pic.twitter.com/anqY0MltLE
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) May 20, 2022
The other big swap is courtesy of FOX. Longtime broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are making the jump from FOX to the Mouse. The duo are together again and calling games in the booth for ESPN’s Monday Night Football (ESPN is owned primarily by The Walt Disney Company). Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen are replacing Buck and Aikman over at FOX.
Got that? Good.
Preseason in 3..2…1
The 2022 NFL preseason kicks off on August 4 with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. That will be a contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars in Canton, Ohio and will be televised on NBC.
There will be a total of 49 games spreading over all football teams in the league over the preseason. The Raiders and the Jags are the only teams to be playing in four games (because of the Hall of Fame Game) the rest of the teams in the league will only have three games.
Current FanDuel NFL odds for the HOF game:
Spread: Raiders -2
Total: Over-Under 33.5 Points
Moneyline: LV (-124), JAX (+106)
Show Me The Money (NFL Odds)
It used to be years ago the thought of posting the current odds stopped short of being blasphemous. But today you can catch up-to-the-minute odds scroll their way on the lower third of the screen 24/7, literally.
Well before the first kickoff, er, preseason kickoff, here are some of the more notable lines from DraftKing.
Most books in Vegas agree that the Bills are the team who will take home the Lombardi trophy. They currently hover at +600 depending on the book. Tampa is sitting in second at +700, Green Bay and the Chiefs are sitting at +1000. In the MVP category Bills QB Josh Allen is +700 with Tom Brady (+700) and Patrick Mahomes (+800) rounding out that category.
And, in case you are wondering, the Texans are sitting at +25000 to win the Super Bowl this upcoming year.