It’s time for some football, ladies and gentlemen.

That’s right. In less than 72 hours, we will be watching a competitive NFL game for the first time since February. The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will run it back on Wednesday night to open the 2026 NFL season, and after that, there will be football every single week for the foreseeable future.

One of my favorite stories to write throughout the year is our “By the Numbers” series, where we break down every single week by identifying some key stats, so I figured, why not turn that into a preseason article and break down all the important numbers you need to know before the start of the season.

Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming year in number form.

New Faces in New Places

10: A whopping 10 teams – nearly a third of the league – will have a new head coach in 2026. Mike LaFleur (Cardinals), Jesse Minter (Ravens), Joe Brady (Bills), Todd Monken (Browns), Klint Kubiak (Raiders) and Jeff Hafley (Dolphins) will all be getting their first shot, while Robert Saleh (Titans), Kevin Stefanski (Falcons), John Harbaugh (Giants) and Mike McCarthy (Steelers) are all returning to a head coaching position after they were fired at their previous gig.

6: At least six teams will have a new starting quarterback in 2026: the Jets (Geno Smith), Dolphins (Malik Willis), Browns (Deshaun Watson), Raiders (Kirk Cousins/Fernando Mendoza), Vikings (Kyler Murray), Falcons (Tua Tagovailoa).

5: This offseason, there were five trades involving a former NFL All-Pro. Myles Garrett, Trent McDuffie, A.J. Brown, and Minkah Fitzpatrick were all First-Teamers who were traded, while Dexter Lawrence earned Second-Team selections.

A Year of Firsts

1: For the first time in NFL history, the league will host one game in Australia. The league continues its international expansion as the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers open their season in Melbourne.

9: While we’re on the topic of international games, the league is setting a record for the most international games played in a single season with nine.

119: For 119 years, the “chain gang” served as the official measurement system for American Football. But in 2026, the NFL is transitioning to a digital measuring system as its primary system for the first time ever.

0: For the first time since 2022, zero rookie quarterbacks are expected to start in Week 1.

61: Alabama and Ohio State are currently tied with 61 active NFL players. This is the first time since 2018 that Alabama hasn’t been the only team with the most players on an NFL roster in Week 1. In 2018, Miami had the most to start the year.

Father Time

42: Aaron Rodgers is currently the oldest player in the NFL at 42 years of age.

32: Derrick Henry has played 16+ games in five of the last six seasons, and in four of those five years, he’s rushed for 1,500+ yards. If he rushes for 1,500+ yards again in 2026, he will become the oldest running back in NFL history to do so at age 32.

25.0: The Miami Dolphins are currently the youngest team in the NFL with an average age of 25 years.

27.1: Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons are the two oldest teams in the league with an average age of 27.1 years.

26.4: The Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, and New York Giants all sit in the middle of the spectrum with an average age of 26.4.

32: There is a 32-year age gap between the oldest and youngest NFL head coaches. Andy Reid (68) is currently the oldest coach in the sport, while Joe Brady (36) is the youngest.

It’s All About the Money

5.83: The NFL set a new record this offseason with teams spending a combined $5.83 billion in free agency. Of that 5.83 billion, nearly half (2.59 billion) was guaranteed.

66: There are now 66 NFL players who currently have a contract worth at least $100 million. Only 21 of those contracts are worth north of $200 million, and only two are worth over $300 million (Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes).

20: Of those 66 deals worth over $100 million, 20 of them were signed this offseason. The most lucrative was Patrick Mahomes reworking his deal to $504 million over the next eight seasons ($63 million per year), while the smallest was Nick Herbig and Peter Skoronski both signing four-year, $100 million deals ($25 million per year).

208: The Los Angeles Rams made Myles Garrett, who they traded for this offseason, the first non-QB in NFL history to sign a deal worth more than $200 million. He will make $208 million over the next five seasons ($41.6 million per year).

8: 8 players became the highest-paid player at their position this offseason: Patrick Mahomes (QB), Myles Garrett (ED), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR),  Jahmyr Gibbs (RB), Tyler Linderbaum (C), Darnell Wright (RT), Devon Witherspoon (CB), and Brandon Aubrey (K).

Other Numbers to Know

3: The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will square off in a Super Bowl rematch to open the season. This is just the third time in NFL history that the season opener has been a rematch of the big game. The first time came back in 1970 when the Vikings and Chiefs opened the season, and the second came a decade ago in 2016 when the Panthers and Broncos opened the season against each other.

4: With the season now opening on Wednesday night, there will be four primetime games in Week 1. The Seahawks and Patriots play Wednesday night, the Rams and 49ers play Thursday night, the Cowboys and Giants play Sunday night, and the Broncos and Chiefs play Monday night. That means eight teams – or exactly a fourth of the league – will open the season with a primetime game.

4: Only four teams are 4+ point favorites in Week 1. The Eagles are favored by 4.5 against the Commanders, the Lions are favored by seven over the Saints, the Jaguars are favored by 7.5 against the Browns, and the Chargers are favored by 10.5 against the Cardinals. Should be a pretty entertaining Week 1.

161: According to ESPN’s website, the average get-in price for a Week 1 NFL game is $161. The cheapest game of the week is the Titans vs Jets, with a get-in cost of just $23. The most expensive game of the week is the season opener between the Seahawks and Patriots, which has a get-in price of $305.