Every May, the NFL announces its full regular-season programming slate. But what started as a straightforward information dump has evolved into what’s now referred to as the “creative Super Bowl,” where the social media teams behind each team in the league brainstorm the most original ways to announce when they’ll face their predetermined opponents. Below, Variety breaks down some of this year’s best.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts take over Springfield, announcing their 2026 schedule via a “Simpsons” short. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the NFL integrate with the show. During the 2024 season, as a continuation of Disney’s annual “Funday Football” broadcast, players from the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys were animated in “Simpsons” style, allowing fans to watch the game in real time, as though it were taking place in Springfield. In the Colts’ video, some of the show’s most iconic clips, each relevant to an opponent, were pulled and compiled to show off the 18-week slate.
Los Angeles Chargers
As reigning champs of the schedule release, the Chargers are behind arguably the strongest video of the year, shocking no one. Less than 24 hours after its release, their video, made entirely in the “Halo” video game, has racked up over 13 million views on X, the most popular video across all platforms by far. The Week 11 segment, when the Chargers are slated to play the New York Jets, featured (fake) chatter from “Halo” gamer LittleTimmyTim, who said “knicks bball >>> ballet + opera” and user XxBrunsonBurnerxX, saying “pls pls pls let me in sabrina” — shady references to Timothee Chalamet’s controversial comments on ballet and New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson reportedly being denied entry into Sabrina Carpenter’s Met Gala after-party.
