‘Hard Knocks’ Chooses Reluctant New York Jets to Lead Latest Season of HBO’s NFL Reality Series

It’s the Hard Knocks life for the New York Jets this upcoming season.

The team will officially be featured on HBO and NFL Film’s reality series, as reported by ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter via Twitter today (July 12).

The news, while thrilling to Jets fans, may also come as a bit of a surprise, considering head coach Robert Saleh previously expressed tremendous disinterest in featuring his team on the show, per The New York Post.

Special-teams captain Justin Hardee also wasn’t too fond of the idea either, tweeting back in April, “Man y’all can give hard knocks to another team man we tryna focus and win that’s a distraction.”

According to CBS Sports, the NFL reportedly had immense difficulty securing a team to highlight this season, with only four teams that the NFL could technically force into the spotlight: the Jets, the Chicago Bears, the New Orleans Saints, and the Washington Commanders.

The outlet shared the alleged criteria by which a team can bow out of the show, so long as they have satisfied one of the following:

1. They have a first-year head coach in place. 
2. They have a playoff berth in the past two seasons. 
3. They have appeared on Hard Knocks in the past 10 years.

The Jets made a 2010 appearance in the sixth season of the Hard Knocks, garnering the show a Sports Emmy in the process. Their notable March 2022 trade that scored them Aaron Rodgers, former quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, will certainly bring in a lot of buzz this season.

According to The Athletic, HBO cameras are expected to begin filming The Jets at training camp July 19.

While a release date has yet to be announced for the upcoming season of Hard Knocks, the series typically begins airing episodes in August on HBO and Max.