2017 in American football
# 2017 in American football

## 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games

* December 17, 2016 – January 9, 2017: 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games Schedule

### College Football Playoff (CFP) and Championship Game

* December 30, 2016: 2016 Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida at the Hard Rock Stadium
   * The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Michigan Wolverines, 33–32.
* December 31, 2016: 2016 Peach Bowl in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome
   * The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Washington Huskies, 24–7.
* December 31, 2016: 2016 Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona at the University of Phoenix Stadium
   * The Clemson Tigers defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, 31–0.
* January 2, 2017: 2017 Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington at the AT&T Stadium
   * The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Western Michigan Broncos, 24–16.
* January 2, 2017: 2017 Rose Bowl in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl
   * The USC Trojans defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions, 52–49.
* January 2, 2017: 2017 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome
   * The Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Auburn Tigers, 35–13.
* January 9, 2017: 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship in Tampa at the Raymond James Stadium
   * The Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide, 35–31.

### Non-CFP bowl games

* December 17, 2016: 2016 New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque at the University Stadium
   * The New Mexico Lobos defeated the UTSA Roadrunners, 23–20.
* December 17, 2016: 2016 Las Vegas Bowl in Las Vegas at the Sam Boyd Stadium
   * The San Diego State Aztecs defeated the Houston Cougars, 34–10.
* December 17, 2016: 2016 Camellia Bowl in Montgomery at the Cramton Bowl
   * The Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated the Toledo Rockets, 31–28.
* December 17, 2016: 2016 Cure Bowl in Orlando at the Camping World Stadium
   * The Arkansas State Red Wolves defeated the UCF Knights, 31–13.
* December 17, 2016: 2016 New Orleans Bowl in New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome
   * The Southern Miss Golden Eagles defeated the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, 28–21.
* December 19, 2016: 2016 Miami Beach Bowl in Miami at Marlins Park
   * The Tulsa Golden Hurricane defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas, 55–10.
* December 20, 2016: 2016 Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton at the FAU Stadium
   * The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers defeated the Memphis Tigers, 51–31.
* December 21, 2016: 2016 Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego at the Qualcomm Stadium
   * The BYU Cougars defeated the Wyoming Cowboys, 24–21.
* December 22, 2016: 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise at the Albertsons Stadium
   * The Idaho Vandals defeated the Colorado State Rams, 61–50.
* December 23, 2016: 2016 Bahamas Bowl in Nassau at the Thomas Robinson Stadium
   * The Old Dominion Monarchs defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles, 24–20.
* December 23, 2016: 2016 Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth at the Amon G. Carter Stadium
   * The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the Navy Midshipmen, 48–45.
* December 23, 2016: 2016 Dollar General Bowl in Mobile at the Ladd–Peebles Stadium
   * The Troy Trojans defeated the Ohio Bobcats, 28–23.
* December 24, 2016: 2016 Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu at the Aloha Stadium
   * The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors defeated the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, 52–35.
* December 26, 2016: 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl in St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field
   * The Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the Miami RedHawks, 17–16.
* December 26, 2016: 2016 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit at Ford Field
   * The Boston College Eagles defeated the Maryland Terrapins, 36–30.
* December 26, 2016: 2016 Independence Bowl in Shreveport at the Independence Stadium
   * The NC State Wolfpack defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores, 41–17.
* December 27, 2016: 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl
   * The Army Black Knights defeated the North Texas Mean Green, 38–31.
* December 27, 2016: 2016 Military Bowl in Annapolis at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
   * The Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated the Temple Owls, 34–26.
* December 27, 2016: 2016 Holiday Bowl in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium
   * The Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the Washington State Cougars, 17–12.
* December 27, 2016: 2016 Cactus Bowl in Phoenix at Chase Field
   * The Baylor Bears defeated the Boise State Broncos, 31–12.
* December 28, 2016: 2016 Pinstripe Bowl in The Bronx (New York City) at Yankee Stadium
   * The Northwestern Wildcats defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers, 31–24.
* December 28, 2016: 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando at the Camping World Stadium
   * The Miami Hurricanes defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers, 31–14.
* December 28, 2016: 2016 Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium
   * The Utah Utes defeated the Indiana Hoosiers, 26–24.
* December 28, 2016: 2016 Texas Bowl in Houston at NRG Stadium
   * The Kansas State Wildcats defeated the Texas A&M Aggies, 33–28.
* December 29, 2016: 2016 Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham at Legion Field
   * The South Florida Bulls defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks, 46–39.
* December 29, 2016: 2016 Belk Bowl in Charlotte at the Bank of America Stadium
   * The Virginia Tech Hokies defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks, 35–24.
* December 29, 2016: 2016 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio at the Alamodome
   * The Oklahoma State Cowboys defeated the Colorado Buffaloes, 38–8.
* December 30, 2016: 2016 Liberty Bowl in Memphis at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
   * The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the TCU Horned Frogs, 31–23.
* December 30, 2016: 2016 Sun Bowl in El Paso at the Sun Bowl
   * The Stanford Cardinal defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels, 25–23.
* December 30, 2016: 2016 Music City Bowl in Nashville at Nissan Stadium
   * The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 38–24.
* December 30, 2016: 2016 Arizona Bowl in Tucson at Arizona Stadium
   * The Air Force Falcons defeated the South Alabama Jaguars, 45–21.
* December 31, 2016: 2016 Citrus Bowl in Orlando at the Camping World Stadium
   * The LSU Tigers defeated the Louisville Cardinals, 29–9.
* December 31, 2016: 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville at EverBank Field
   * The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated the Kentucky Wildcats, 33–18.
* January 2, 2017: 2017 Outback Bowl in Tampa at the Raymond James Stadium
   * The Florida Gators defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes, 30–3.

## National Football League

* January 29: 2017 Pro Bowl in Orlando at Camping World Stadium
   * The AFC defeated the NFC, 20–13.
   * Offensive MVP: Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs)
   * Defensive MVP: Lorenzo Alexander (Buffalo Bills)
* February 5: Super Bowl LI in Houston at NRG Stadium
   * The New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 34–28 in overtime, to win their fifth Super Bowl title.
   * MVP: Tom Brady (New England Patriots)
* April 27 – 29: 2017 NFL Draft in Philadelphia
   * #1 pick: Myles Garrett (to the Cleveland Browns from the Texas A&M Aggies)
* September 7 – December 31: 2017 NFL season

## IFAF

* June 24 – 30: 2017 IFAF Women's World Championship in Langley, British Columbia
   * The United States defeated Canada, 41–16, to win their third consecutive IFAF Women's World Championship title.
   * Mexico took third place.
* November 2 – 5: 2017 IFAF Beach Football World Championship in Tamarindo (debut event)
   * Event was cancelled.

## Pro Football Hall of Fame

* Class of 2017:
   * Morten Andersen, player
   * Terrell Davis, player
   * Kenny Easley, player
   * Jerry Jones, player
   * Jason Taylor, player
   * LaDainian Tomlinson, player
   * Kurt Warner, player
