The irresistible juggernaut that is the NFL is about to return for the 2024 season with a typically lengthy list of sub-plots for fans to look forward to.
Aaron Rodgers is back with an intact Achilles and Taylor Swift – in a scarcely-documented relationship with Travis Kelce – was a prominent co-star in the league’s own promo for a season in which Kelce’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, could make it a hat-trick of Super Bowls.
Overlooking proceedings, NFL legend Tom Brady is about to make his broadcasting bow as part of a 10-year contract with Fox worth $375 million.
Rodgers’ return has been much anticipated ever since the quarterback, who will turn 41 in December, ruptured his left tendon during the Jets’ 2023 opener against the Buffalo Bills on September 11. We take a look at that storyline and four more ahead this season.
📰 Table Of Contents
Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets comeback
A four-time NFL MVP, Rodgers had joined the Jets in April 2023 after 17 years with the Green Bay Packers and has become better known for his pronouncements about extra-curricular topics.
In one of those, shortly after he was sidelined, Rodgers challenged Kelce to a debate about Covid vaccines. The month before his fateful season started, Rodgers had said he regretted remarks in which he appeared to suggest he was immunised from the virus.
The oldest player in the NFL says his pre-season has been tough and is steeled by an enhanced Jets team whose attacking weapons now include Tyron Smith, John Simpson, Morgan Moses and 11th draft pick Olumuyiwa Fashanu.
Rodgers has spent part of his preparations on a houseboat on the Nile in between visiting Egyptian temples and said he enjoys reading, meditating and relaxing more these days.
After a fourth consecutive Jets season in which they lost at least 10 games, supercharging their fortunes could prove as profound an experience for Rodgers as his apparent path to personal enlightenment.
Aaron “No-Look” Rodgers pic.twitter.com/iStzIS5WOH
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 2, 2024
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift
Arguably the world’s biggest pop star, Swift has a long history of acting as a hype act for the NFL and has become even more of a poster girl for the sport since her relationship with Kelce became public.
With regular-season games averaging almost 18 million viewers, the sport hardly depends upon the level of extra showbiz Swift and Kelce have given it.
But such has become their standing that the couple stole the spotlight, culminating in Swift crossing nine time zones to watch Kelce win the Super Bowl, where the cameras seemed to catch her every move as the 14-time Grammy Award-winner cheered the tight end on, kissed him at the end and was later filmed singing one of her own songs at the after-party.
One game Swift attended between the Chiefs and the Bears had a 63% increase in female viewers aged between 18 and 49, according to Front Office Sports, which suggested her appearance had helped the broadcast record a 61% increase in viewers, to more than 10 million adults overall.
A year after they got together, Kelce has also landed a three-year distribution for the podcast he co-hosts with an Amazon off-shoot, said to be worth more than $100m.
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Baltimore Ravens: Are they weaker?
There is bound to be an element of redemption on the Ravens’ collective mind when they meet the Chiefs in their opening game, a rematch of the AFC Championship Game which they lost 17-10 despite being the top seeds on home turf in January.
The result was as much a product of their mistakes as the Chiefs’ brilliance – including Kelce breaking the record for post-season catches – and there are questions marks over whether they are stronger at the start of this season, although Derrick Henry’s addition at running back is a tantalising one.
Henry was the 2020 Offensive Player of the Year and finished second in rush yards in 2023 as part of a poorly-performing Tennessee Titans offensive line.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson was last season’s MVP and 2023 first-round draft wide receiver Zay Flowers should shine, but the Ravens have lost key personnel in Patrick Queen, Jadeveon Clowney, Morgan Moses and Kevin Zeitler and there is a sense that last season’s anti-climax may have been their best shot at glory.
Much will depend on how their newcomers fare. “This game will tell us where we need to go,” says Trenton Simpson, Queen’s replacement as lineback, discussing their latest encounter with the Chiefs. “It’s only Game 1 but you play your best and learn from it.”
The wait is almost over ⌛️ pic.twitter.com/tcWCe6EwcA
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 1, 2024
Tom Brady on Fox
There appear to be complications even before Brady’s bash at broadcasting has begun. The seven-time Super Bowl champion’s mooted involvement with the Las Vegas Raiders has resulted in the league making a presentation to owners titled ‘Brady – Broadcast Restrictions’, according to ESPN, which says any deal would make him subject to rules including potential fines or a suspension for questioning officials or other clubs on air.
While Rodgers is hoping to take the torch for 40-somethings excelling in the NFL, Brady is in unknown territory. He’s replacing the popular, insightful Greg Olsen and appeared to be partly attempting to assert his credentials when he announced on social media this week that he has kept “every call sheet, scouting report” from his 22-year playing career.
Brady’s first game on analytical duties will see him call the Dallas Cowboys at the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, which is Fox Sports America’s Game of the Week. “There’s going to be a lot of growth that I’m going to have over a period of time,” he acknowledged.
“Coming out of the box, I want to do well – but I also know that I’m not a finished product, that I’m going to make plenty of mistakes. I’m going to learn as I go.”
Some 🔥 matchups coming your way this season in America’s Game of the Week on FOX 🏈 pic.twitter.com/xqoremM52s
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) May 16, 2024
Chiefs hat-trick?
The Chiefs are very narrow favourites – ahead of the San Francisco 49ers – to win the Super Bowl again, and signings such as the return of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, together with the addition of the likes of seasoned running back Samaje Perine, should give Andy Reid the depth to deal with injuries.
Kelce shows few signs of slowing at 34 and Patrick Mahomes should be near-unstoppable again, leaving only minor concerns around the Chiefs’ defensive qualities, with L’Jarius Sneed a force to replace at cornerback.
The stats stack up, but can the team with 11 consecutive winning seasons and a 41-7 record against opponents in their own division become the first ever to win a hat-trick of Super Bowl titles?
“I know there will be changes as things go on but I like what we’ve got here,” says the revered Reid, responsible for 128 wins from 179 regular-season games since taking charge in 2013.
“The Ravens are on the other side going ‘alright, this is all great but we’re here to kick your tail’. As players and coaches, you’re not enjoying a lot of the pageantry – you just want to get out and play.”
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