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 defeated, 41–16, to win their third consecutive IFAF Women's World Championship title.
 * 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