The N.F.L. strives to be a 365-day-a-year showcase.
From the Super Bowl to the scouting combine in a few weeks to the start of free agency in March and the draft in April and the preparation for the new season a few months after that,
the drumbeat of attraction and attention never seems to stop. With the 2022 season in the books, with a thrilling victory by the Kansas City Chiefs over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl,
here are some of the issues that will be the talk of the N.F.L. even before the next season starts on Sept. 7.
The post-Brady, Mahomes era Assuming Tom Brady really has retired after 23 seasons, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be the most recognizable player in the league.
His leading his team to a second-half, comeback win over the Eagles, 38-35, only cements his standing as the next thing.
Like Brady, he has piled up wins — Kansas City has the most wins in the league since Mahomes became a starter in 2018 — and his creativity and flair for dramatic plays makes him the envy of fans, sponsors and broadcasters.
“A lot of what makes the game as exciting as it is are the dual threat quarterbacks” who can run as well as throw, said Mike Mulvihill,
the executive vice president and head of strategy and analytics at Fox Sports which,
like all of the league’s broadcast partners, is eager to show Kansas City’s games. “Mahomes is probably the best representation of that.”