Hard Knocks Criteria and Requirements: How does the NFL decide which team to feature every year? 

The Chicago Bears have been chosen to be the team that will be featured in the next edition of HBO's "Hard Knocks," which was announced on Thursday.

The annual docuseries, which follows the preseason journey of one NFL club each year, will include the Bears for the first time in the team's history this year.

The show has followed 14 teams' training camps since it debuted in 2001. The newest team to add their name to the list is Chicago. This indicates that the docuseries has only yet to cover nine teams.

Fans may be wondering why the Bears are this year's focus of the show's attention. Here's a closer look at the selection criteria used to decide which team will be featured on "Hard Knocks".

Hard Knocks criteria explained

Notably, NFL teams who would like to be featured can volunteer for "Hard Knocks," but the league ultimately chooses which team will be the focus of the series each year.

The NFL has determined a team's eligibility for the docuseries based on the same three criteria for more than ten years. The first requirement is that prior to that offseason, the team must have missed the postseason in each of the previous two seasons.

The league also requires a team to have a head coach who has been with them for at least one season in order to choose the team to appear on "Hard Knocks". This implies that teams who hired a new head coach during that offseason will not be given any consideration.

The last requirement, which has been in place since 2013, is that the team must not have appeared on "Hard Knocks" during the previous 10 years.

The Bears were one of the three teams that satisfied the show's selection requirements this year. Matt Eberflus, the team's head coach, is about to start his third season. They have also failed to qualify for the playoffs in the past two years. In fact, they haven't made the playoffs since 2021. Furthermore, they haven't appeared on the show in the last 10 years as they have never appeared on the show.

The Bears were chosen over the other two qualified clubs, the New Orleans Saints and Washington Commanders.

How do NFL teams on Hard Knocks fare in-season?

A total of 14 teams have participated in "Hard Knocks" during training camp since the documentary series premiered in 2001. The Cowboys, Jets, Rams and Bengals have all been featured on the show more than once.

Worryingly for Bears fans, just three of the six teams that featured in the previous five seasons of the show finished with winning records, with none of those teams advancing far in the playoffs.

Here's a look at how "Hard Knocks" teams have fared in the following season:

2019: Oakland Raiders

Record: 7-9

Division: Third in AFC West

Playoffs: No

2020: Los Angeles Chargers and Rams

Record: Chargers (7-9), Rams (10-6)

Division: Chargers (Third in AFC West), Rams (Second in the NFC West)

Playoffs: Chargers (No), Rams (Yes; lost to the Packers in the Divisional Round)

2021: Dallas Cowboys

Record: 12-5

Division: First in the NFC East

Playoffs: Yes; lost to the 49ers in the Wildcard Round

2022: Detroit Lions

Record: 9-8

Division: Second in the NFC North

Playoffs: No

2023: New York Jets

Record: 7-10

Division: Third in the AFC East

Playoffs: No

How do you think Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears will fare next season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.