The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced on Monday that Tim McGraw will play a free concert at Raymond James Stadium prior to the Buccaneers’ season-opening game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, September 8.  The concert, which is free to all patrons with a ticket to the game, is part of the team’s NFL Fantennial Celebration commemorating 100 years of NFL football.

“As teams all across the league prepare to celebrate 100 years of NFL football, we wanted to usher in this historic season in unprecedented fashion,” said Buccaneers Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford. “This free pre-game concert with country music superstar Tim McGraw will provide an unforgettable start to the NFL’s 100^th season.”

The full concert begins at 2:00 p.m. and will be held in the plaza above the south end zone concourse at Raymond James Stadium. Ticketed fans will be allowed to enter the stadium beginning at 12:30 p.m. with parking lots opening at 11:30 a.m.

McGraw will perform a variety of his No. 1 hits during the full concert as well as an encore halftime performance. The music superstar’s unparalleled career includes 43 No. 1 radio singles and 16 No. 1 albums. McGraw has three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, 10 American Music Awards, and three People’s Choice Awards.

“The start of the NFL season is one of my favorite times of the year,” said McGraw. “I love football and I’m pumped to be kicking off the NFL’s 100^th season together with all the Bucs fans in Tampa.”

McGraw is an avid sports fan who grew up playing baseball even before discovering his biological father was MLB star Tug McGraw. McGraw is best known for his career in country music but has also branched out as an actor, starring in the real-life football movie based on NFL Michael Oher, The Blindside.

Tickets for this game start at $45 and are now on sale at Buccaneers.com and Ticketmaster.com.

–Part of this report is courtesy of the Buccaneers communications department