How NFL schedule release became the league's springtime social media Super Bowl - ESPN

One day every spring, NFL teams compete against one another — on social media.

On paper, the league's annual schedule release day should largely be a formality. The teams' respective opponents are already known, so schedule release day simply reveals the dates on which the games will be played.

What could be a mundane process, however, has in recent years evolved into a social media sensation — a battle of wit, design and creativity among teams to produce the most memorable schedule reveal posts. The all-in approach has also resonated with fans. Last year's most viewed reveal on X — the Los Angeles Chargers' Minecraft-themed release video — amassed 19.2 million views.

Were the heights that this day has reached a predictable endpoint to the rise of schedule release day? Probably not. Just take it from Ian Trombetta, NFL senior vice president of social, influencer and content marketing.

«We were encouraged by it,» Trombetta told ESPN of the trend's emergence. «I didn't know that it would have this kind of, not only shelf life, but it's continued to grow.»

Schedule release day is here. And it's as big as ever. Welcome to the NFL's spring social media Super Bowl.

This all started in 2016 with cupcakes.

That April, the Seattle Seahawks, inspired by «the popular short cooking videos that are popular on social media these days,» decided to mix things up a bit for their schedule release. They made a video showing a batch of cupcakes being baked, with a number of unlikely ingredients being added to the recipe that referenced their opponents, ranging from plastic Mardi Gras beads (New Orleans Saints) to buffalo sauce (Buffalo Bills).

The video then showed quick shots of 16 cupcakes representing each team Seattle was playing, with