The NFL is doubling down on its long-running reality series, Hard Knocks, by expanding the pool of teams that are eligible to be selected for the show each season.
Under new rules going into effect for the 2025 season, more than half the league will be fair game for NFL Films and HBO to follow during training camp—way up from previous seasons when sometimes just a handful of teams were in the running.
The new eligibility rules, according to NFL insider Albert Breer, only prohibit teams that have a first-year head coach, those in divisions set to be featured in the next two seasons of Hard Knocks: In-Season, and teams that participated in the training camp Hard Knocks in the previous eight seasons. The NFL has also decided that each of its eight divisions will appear on the show on a rotating basis.
Gone is the rule prohibiting teams that made the playoffs in the previous two seasons, which limited the pool of contenders.
Who Is Next?
Without yet knowing which division the in-season edition will follow in 2025, here are the 20 teams currently eligible for Hard Knocks this summer:
- AFC East: Bills, Dolphins
- AFC North: Bengals, Ravens, Steelers
- AFC South: Colts, Texans, Titans
- AFC West: Broncos, Chiefs
- NFC East: Commanders, Eagles, Giants
- NFC North: Packers, Vikings
- NFC South: Falcons, Panthers
- NFC West: 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks
Up to three of those teams will be ineligible since their division will be followed for the in-season Hard Knocks, meaning at least 17 teams will ultimately be eligible this year.
It appears the NFL will not produce an offseason version of Hard Knocks this year, after many pundits were shocked by the access the Giants gave the show in 2024, and a deal with UNC and new coach Bill Belichick fell through.
