An exception was made in 2012, when the game was moved to Wednesday to prevent conflicts with the acceptance speech of the Democratic National Convention.

The Kickoff Game was introduced in the 2002 season, under the leadership of then–NFL marketing executive John Collins and then–NFL Senior Vice President of Special Events Jim Steeg.

In 2006, NBC acquired the television rights to the Kickoff Game as part of their Sunday Night Football package.

[citation needed] With the advent of Monday Night Football in 1970 it became common for the Super Bowl champion to appear in a "showcase" game the first weekend of the season.

The New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, and Kansas City Chiefs are the only five defending Super Bowl champions to have lost.

The Giants are also the only home team to have lost in the Kickoff Game twice—once in the very first edition of the contest, when the defending Super Bowl winner was not yet a regular participant, and again in 2012.

2003: The kickoff game's popularity and success saw it move to ABC as part of the Monday Night Football package.

There was consideration of a match-up against the Pittsburgh Steelers (to create a contest between the last two Super Bowl champions) but it did not come to fruition due to various logistical reasons.

The Ravens instead played on the road against the Denver Broncos in a rematch of the previous season's AFC Divisional Playoff game.

They also suffered the biggest margin of defeat by a defending Super Bowl champion on opening day in NFL history.

2015: The New England Patriots, after winning Super Bowl XLIX, hosted the 2015 Kickoff Game on September 10 at Gillette Stadium, with the Pittsburgh Steelers as their opponent.

[11] It also marked the first time NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not attend a Kickoff Game, stating that he did not want to be a distraction.

2016: The Denver Broncos hosted the 2016 Kickoff Game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High against the Carolina Panthers on September 8, in a Super Bowl 50 rematch.

2017: The defending Super Bowl LI champions, the New England Patriots, hosted the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2017 Kickoff Game at Gillette Stadium.

[13] The game marked the return of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott after suffering a significant injury during Week 5 of the 2020 season; Prescott passed for 403 yards in a losing effort, as the Buccaneers secured a 31–29 victory with the winning points coming on a Ryan Succop field goal with two seconds left in the game.

[15][16] A moment of silence was held before the game for the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II, who had died earlier that day.