Upcoming NFL Playoffs dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Fourteen teams, four rounds, no second chances
The NFL playoffs are a four-round, single-elimination tournament that follows the regular season and ends with the Super Bowl. Fourteen teams qualify, seven from each conference (the AFC and the NFC). Every round before the Super Bowl is played at the stadium of the higher-seeded team, so the playoffs come to the home cities of the best regular-season teams, usually across mid- and late January.
Seeding works this way:
- Seeds 1 through 4 go to the four division winners in each conference, ranked by record.
- Seeds 5 through 7 go to the three wild cards (the best remaining records in the conference).
- The No. 1 seed receives a bye (it skips the first round) and is guaranteed a home game in the second.
The NFL is the only one of the four major North American leagues whose entire postseason is single elimination. One loss ends a season, which is a large part of why playoff tickets carry the demand they do.
The playoff calendar, round by round
The 2025–26 playoffs show the usual rhythm:
- Wild Card round (January 10–12, 2026): six games over a Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Seed 2 hosts seed 7, seed 3 hosts seed 6, and seed 4 hosts seed 5.
- Divisional round (January 17–18, 2026): four games over one weekend. The No. 1 seed hosts the lowest surviving seed.
- Conference championships (January 25, 2026): the AFC and NFC title games on the same Sunday, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, with the slots rotating between conferences each year.
- Super Bowl (February 8, 2026): two weeks later, at a site the league chose years in advance.
The bracket is reseeded after each round rather than fixed. The lowest remaining seed always travels to the top seed, so the divisional matchups are not known until the last wild card game ends. For the 2026 season the Super Bowl is scheduled for February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium; the earlier rounds follow in the weeks before it, with exact dates and kickoff times set by the league.
Why playoff tickets work on short notice
A playoff game is the shortest sales window in the sport. A team often does not know whether it will host until the final weeks of the regular season, and the opponent and the kickoff slot may not be fixed until less than a week before the game.
- Season ticket holders come first. Each team sets its own playoff ticket rules. Season ticket holders are generally offered their seats before anyone else, so the general public sees far fewer seats than for a regular-season game.
- Resale fills the gap. For most fans, the open market is the realistic way into a playoff game, and listings appear as soon as a home game becomes possible.
- Demand rises with each round. A wild card game draws the least, a divisional game more, and a conference championship, which sends the winner to the Super Bowl, the most.
What moves demand inside a round: a long playoff drought for the home team, a division rival or historic opponent on the other side, a short drive for visiting fans, and the kickoff slot. Prime-time and weekend games generally draw more than an early or weekday window. Severe weather forecasts can also soften demand at open-air stadiums in the last day or two. Every GoodSeats order is backed by a 100% guarantee.
Picking seats for a January game
Most playoff games are played in winter, and that changes the seat calculation.
- Open-air northern stadiums such as Lambeau Field, Soldier Field and Gillette Stadium can be bitterly cold in January. Upper rows are more exposed to wind. If the stadium has a sun side, it matters more in January than in September.
- Roofed stadiums such as Ford Field, U.S. Bank Stadium, Caesars Superdome and Allegiant Stadium remove the weather entirely, so seat choice comes down to sightlines alone.
- Sideline height beats end zone proximity. A middle-row seat between the 20-yard lines shows the whole field. Low end zone rows look close on a map but flatten the field, and the far end is hard to read.
- The upper sideline is often the better value than the lower end zone. In a game where every snap matters, seeing every play is worth more than being close to one end.
- Club levels add indoor concourses, which are worth more in a cold-weather playoff game than at any other time of year.
Visiting fans tend to cluster when a road team travels well. If you are traveling to support the road team, buying near other visitors makes the day more comfortable.
How the bracket has grown
The NFL Championship Game began in 1933, the year after the Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans finished tied and played an improvised title game indoors at Chicago Stadium on an 80-yard dirt field. For more than three decades the postseason was little more than that single championship game.
- 1967: the playoffs expanded to four teams.
- 1970: after the AFL–NFL merger, eight teams.
- 1975: home field began following seeding rather than a yearly rotation.
- 1978: ten teams, with a second wild card in each conference.
- 1990: twelve teams.
- 2020: fourteen teams, with only the top seed in each conference receiving a bye.
The playoffs have produced some of the sport's defining games, from the 1958 championship between the Colts and Giants, the first postseason game decided in overtime, to the 2015–16 wild card weekend, when every road team won for the first time. Since 2022, postseason overtime rules guarantee both teams at least one possession.
Planning a playoff trip
Because the host is not confirmed until late, travel for a playoff game is a short-notice decision.
- Book flexible travel. Refundable hotels and flights matter when a home game depends on the final weekend or a wild card result.
- Plan for a weekday game. The wild card round has included a Monday night game in recent seasons.
- Check policies close to the date. Stadium bag rules, parking and mobile-ticket requirements are set by each venue and team and can change; confirm them on the home team's site before you go. The league's NFL playoff hub carries the current bracket.
Frequently asked questions
How many teams make the NFL playoffs?
Fourteen, seven from each conference. Each conference sends its four division winners and three wild cards, and the top seed in each conference skips the first round.
Who hosts NFL playoff games?
The higher-seeded team hosts every game through the conference championships. The Super Bowl is played at a site the league selects years ahead.
When do NFL playoff tickets go on sale?
Each team sets its own timing, and season ticket holders are generally offered seats first. Public and resale availability often opens only days before the game, once the matchup is confirmed.
When are the NFL playoffs played?
The four rounds run from the weekend after the regular season ends into late January, with the Super Bowl two weeks after the conference championships. In 2025–26 the rounds ran January 10 through January 25, and the Super Bowl was February 8, 2026.
Can I buy playoff tickets before the matchup is set?
Resale listings can appear for possible home games before the matchup is known. Check how the listing handles a game that does not take place before you buy.
Are NFL playoff games ever played on a neutral field?
Only the Super Bowl is scheduled at a predetermined site. Every other round is played at the higher seed's home stadium.