Game Status Workflow

Intro

Every NFL game travels through various statuses in its lifecycle. Leverage the game status to inform on the appropriate endpoint to retrieve.

Game status is available in every Schedule and Game endpoint. To retrieve a game's initial status and schedule information it would be most appropriate to request the Season Schedule, Current Season Schedule, or Current Week Schedule endpoints.

<game id="ebb5f3ac-bb13-4dc4-ab8b-6c65623eac13" status="scheduled" scheduled="2024-09-06T00:20:00+00:00" 
      entry_mode="LDE" sr_id="sr:match:50075555" game_type="regular" conference_game="true">

"games": [
  {
    "id": "ebb5f3ac-bb13-4dc4-ab8b-6c65623eac13",
    "status": "scheduled",
    "scheduled": "2024-09-06T00:20:00+00:00",
    "entry_mode": "LDE",
    "sr_id": "sr:match:50075555",
    "game_type": "regular",
    "conference_game": true,
    "venue": {
      "id": "2ec4c411-dac2-403d-b091-6b6aa4a0a914",
      "name": "GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium",
      "city": "Kansas City",
      "state": "MO",
      "country": "USA",
      "zip": "64129",
      "address": "One Arrowhead Drive",
      "capacity": 76416,
      "surface": "turf",
      "roof_type": "outdoor",
      "sr_id": "sr:venue:8189",
      "location": {
        "lat": "39.049019",
        "lng": "-94.484140"
      }
    },
    "home": {
      "id": "6680d28d-d4d2-49f6-aace-5292d3ec02c2",
      "name": "Kansas City Chiefs",
      "alias": "KC",
      "game_number": 1,
      "sr_id": "sr:competitor:4422"
    },
    "away": {
      "id": "ebd87119-b331-4469-9ea6-d51fe3ce2f1c",
      "name": "Baltimore Ravens",
      "alias": "BAL",
      "game_number": 1,
      "sr_id": "sr:competitor:4413"
    },
    "broadcast": {
      "network": "NBC"
    }
  },

Coverage Levels

Every NFL game is covered at our highest level, full coverage. This means you will not need to factor the type of game into any of your data retrieval logic.

Game Status Definitions

Below are each of the valid game statuses you can expect to see in the NFL API. Reference these definitions for precise detail on what each game state signifies.

• scheduled – The game is scheduled to occur.
• created – Game data (rosters, officials, etc) are being pre-loaded in preparation for the game.
• inprogress – The game is in progress.
• halftime – The game is currently at halftime.
• complete – The game is over, but stat validation is not complete.
• closed – The game is over and the stats have been validated.
• cancelled – The game has been cancelled. No makeup game will be played as a result.
• postponed – The game has been postponed, to be made up at another day and time. Once the makeup game is announced, a new game and ID will be created and scheduled on the announced makeup date. You should request the Schedule feed(s) regularly to identify the re-scheduled makeup game(s).
• delayed – The scheduled game, or a game that was in progress, is now delayed for some reason.
• suspended – The game has been suspended and will be rescheduled in the future, continuing where they left off. The game ID will remain the same.
• flex-schedule – The game is currently scheduled to occur on a specific date and time, however, it will more than likely be moved to a different time for broadcast purposes.
• time-tbd – The game has been scheduled, but a time has yet to be announced.

Game Workflows

See the below diagrams for common game status flows, with context around each update.

Standard Game

Below is the flow a typical NFL game from scheduled to closed.

Flex Schedule and Time-TBD

Below is the flow of a time-tbd and flex-schedule game. Once this game reaches scheduled status it follows the Standard Game flow.

Postponed

Below is the flow of a postponed game.

Once a new game is created in scheduled status, it follows the Standard Game flow.

Suspended

Below is the flow of a suspended game.

Once a suspended game moves back to inprogress it follows the Standard Game flow.

Cancelled

Below is the flow of a cancelled game.

A cancelled game will remain in cancelled status. See game 7c0c0abf-f566-4a1f-a482-b74a991e1663 as an example.

Game State Samples

Click the links below for sample data of Game feeds by game state.

• scheduled
• created
• inprogress
• complete
• closed
• closed (with subjective stats)

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Simulations

We would also suggest using our Simulations to view each of these game states and test your integration.

Weekly Data Entry

This section provides important NFL data update timings for schedules, statistics, rankings, depth charts, and more.

Click on the days of the week below to view the data entry workflow for each day.