It may be a “hard knock” life for the Jets, and they might not have a choice in the matter.

We are already in the back half of June, and the NFL and HBO have not yet announced which team will be featured in the training camp docuseries “Hard Knocks” this season. Considering that training camps really start to kick off in late July or early August, the deadline is fast approaching.

League executives and HBO producers must be getting desperate to get a deal done for the 2023 season. Reports from the Detroit News are the league already approached the Lions to repeat on the series for a second consecutive year, but were turned down.

It never seems like teams “volunteer” to be on the series. To combat the lack of volunteers, the league setup guidelines around the eligibility for teams to essentially be forced to participate. The league can force teams that don’t meet one of their three guidelines to be the participant on the show.

The first guideline to exclude teams is those with a first-year head coach. The second is teams that have secured a playoff berth in the past two seasons. The last is teams that have appeared on “Hard Knocks” within the past 10 years.

This leaves four teams automatically eligible for the series: Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints and the New York Jets.

Hard Knocks premiered in 2001 with the defending Super Bowl Champion Ravens. Since then, there have been 17 seasons of the hit series, plus two in-season runs. In 2020, the show featured two teams in training camp with both L.A. teams taking center stage.

Of the 18 teams that appeared on the show during training camps, seven have gone on to make the playoffs. The team that has fared the best after being on the show? The New York Jets who went 11-5 and lost in the Conference Championship under then head coach Rex Ryan.

The Jets were featured on the show in 2010 when the Jets were dealing with a training camp holdout from their best defensive player, Darrelle Revis. Sound familiar? We could see a repeat story line if the Jets are selected this year with Quinnen Williams who is still waiting for a new contract.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh has made his stance clear on the idea of the Jets being featured on the series. “I know there are several teams that would love for ‘Hard Knocks’ to be in their building. We’re just not one of them,” Saleh said.

Robert Saleh and the Jets might not like it, but the fact is the Jets are the perfect team this year to be featured on the series. They have a young charismatic coach, they have a polarizing QB who loves the spotlight, and enough personalities (have you seen the mullet on rookie center Joe Tippmann?) to make for interesting viewing.

Who are you dying to watch on the Bears? Most fans probably couldn’t pick Matt Eberflus out of a lineup of three. The drama with the Commanders comes in the owner’s box and not on the field. The Saints don’t have much in terms of star power that would make fans tune in every week.

While some teams have fared poorly after being featured on the series, it can hardly be blamed on the cameras and the spotlight. Some of the teams who participated were simply bad teams.

Hard Knocks can have a positive effect on teams from the outside. Taking out fans with a rooting interest in the Lions, most people would say the show made the Lions a likeable group that fans could easily cheer for. Dan Campbell became one of the more popular head coaches in the game. Robert Saleh could easily do the same.

Featured Image via Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK