Somewhere around late July, every football fan hits the same wall. The highlight reruns stop working, the group chat gets restless, and September feels a hundred years away. Here is the good news: you don't have to wait for September. Real, live professional football returns Thursday, August 6, when the Cardinals and Panthers meet in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio — and from there, the preseason calendar rolls straight through the month.
Canton first: football's opening night
The Hall of Fame Game is the league's ceremonial curtain-raiser, played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, a short walk from the Pro Football Hall of Fame itself. It anchors the enshrinement festivities that turn Canton into football's hometown every August, and for the traveling fan it doubles as one of the sport's great pilgrimages: watch a game at night, walk the busts and the bronze the next morning. For everyone else, it's simply the starting gun. Within ten days of kickoff in Canton, all 32 teams are playing football again.
Why preseason is the smartest cheap night in sports
Preseason football gets talked down by people who only watch on TV, and that's exactly why it stays a bargain in person. In the building, it's a different product: a relaxed stadium, short lines, kids everywhere, and a field full of players competing for actual jobs — the draft picks you've only read about, the undrafted long shots auditioning for a roster spot in real time. The stars make cameos; the show belongs to the kids playing like their careers depend on it, because they do.
And the prices are almost funny. On August 15, the Jaguars visit the Saints at the Caesars Superdome with seats from $5. Five dollars for an NFL game in one of the league's iconic domes. The night before, the Dolphins are at the Commanders from $12, and Eagles–Ravens in Baltimore that same weekend starts at $15. This is the one month of the year when an NFL ticket costs less than the parking.
The bucket-list building hack
Here's the veteran move: use August to cross off stadiums, not matchups. The buildings you've always wanted to see are open for a fraction of their regular-season door price. The Saints visit the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on August 28 from $16 — that's the full Jerry World experience, video board and all, for the cost of a sandwich and a soda. Out west, the Cardinals open the preseason slate at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on August 13 from $26. In the regular season, those same doors open at several times the price.
How to play the month
The rhythm is simple. After Canton on August 6, the first full preseason week runs August 13–15, the second wave lands the following weekend, and the third wraps August 27–29 — after which the countdown to opening weekend gets very short. The other thing that makes preseason so friendly is flexibility: listings are open, prices are visible, and nobody is fighting you for seats, so you can decide on a Tuesday to go on a Saturday. As always, compare the full checkout total across marketplaces before you buy — that side-by-side is exactly what TixInfo is for — and browse the full sports calendar to see what's kicking off near you.
Football season doesn't start in September. It starts next week, in Canton, for the price of a movie ticket. See you at the stadium.
