NFL Media will seek an ownership vote tomorrow on a plan to revamp team selection rules for “Hard Knocks,” with the goal of expanding the pool of potential featured teams while making the documentary series less invasive.
If owners approve the new rules, teams will only be able to avoid the off-season “Hard Knocks” production if they: 1.) Have participated before in the last 8 years (down from 10 years); 2.) Have a first-year head coach (unchanged); or 3.) Will participate in the in-season “Hard Knocks” show in the current season or next season.
Crucially, teams that make the playoffs will no longer be off limits to producers in the following two offseasons if this proposal passes.
Also under this plan, the three-year-old in-season version of “Hard Knocks” would now feature a full four-team division instead of a single team. That would ease competitive concerns, give producers more options for storytelling, and lighten the load on any single team, proponents say.
The proposed changes come after the current restrictions left HBO/NFL Films producers with only four teams to choose from in the 2023 offseason. The Jets were chosen; the Saints, Bears and Commanders were also eligible.
