272 games in 18 weeks. That is how the NFL functions and is expected to function this year as well. But with the little chatter taking place around the league, it points towards some changes setting 2026 apart from the rest. Unlike the last 14 seasons, this year, the season opener will take place on September 9, which is a Wednesday! Not only that, but the season opener will also feature Super Bowl LX winner, the Seattle Seahawks, defending their title. But why a scheduling twist?
Well, that is because the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will travel to Australia for an international game on Thursday. Moreover, the league cannot postpone the games by one day to comply with Thursday Night Football because of the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act. It clearly prohibits pro football games from taking place between the second Friday of September and the second Saturday of December.
“Circle your calendars for the week of May 11th,” Adam Schefter said on the latest episode of his podcast. “I would think that we’ll get a schedule release announcement sometime around May 12th, May 13th, May 14th. Somewhere between Tuesday the 12th and Thursday the 14th.”
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL will release the 272-game schedule between the second Monday and the second Thursday of May. For the last two years, the NFL opted to release the schedule on Wednesday, and if things stay the same, May 13th could be the day when everything is finalized.
This year’s NFL schedule release could be coming sometime between Tuesday May 12 and Thursday May 14.
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— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 8, 2026
However, in 2022 and 2023, the schedule was released on a Thursday. So, May 14th also remains a strong possibility. Circling these two dates could be a better choice than just one.
This year, we already know three out of four teams playing in the opening week. The Seahawks’ opponent at Lumen Field is yet to be decided, while the Rams will face the 49ers. The release of the new schedule has become a major part of the NFL chatter that the league basically requires an announcement about the announcement.
Last year, during the first round of live NFL Draft coverage, ESPN’s Laura Rutledge and NFL Network’s Colleen Wolfe revealed when the schedule would be released. If the same approach is taken this year, fans can expect to hear an update on April 23.
While it sounds interesting, the process of determining the games is pretty tedious. The people creating the schedule need to keep track of multiple points. First, a team plays six games against its three division opponents, then four more games against a rotating division within the same conference. Then, four more games follow against teams from the other conference.
Two games are scheduled against teams in the same conference that finished in the same rank as the main team. For example, if the Cowboys and Rams finish top of their respective divisions, the two may have to play each other. Moreover, the league also schedules an additional game against a non-conference opponent from a division the team is not scheduled to play. Division ranking is also taken into consideration.
While there are a lot of things to be revealed, few details have surfaced about the upcoming season.
There will be some major changes in the upcoming season
Melbourne (Rams vs. 49ers), Rio de Janeiro (Cowboys vs. TBA), Mexico City (49ers vs. TBA), Madrid (Falcons vs. TBA), Munich (Lions vs. TBA), and Paris (Saints vs. TBA) will feature one game each.
And since Melbourne is 14 hours ahead of the U.S.A. time zone, the Rams vs. 49ers game will kick off at 10:35 AM on Friday. In the U.S.A., it will kick off on Thursday at 8:35 PM E.T.
For the above-mentioned games, the venue for the games taking place in London has also been decided. One Jaguars game will be held at Wembley Stadium while the other will be at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Additionally, this year also marks the first time the season opener will be on a Wednesday since 2012, when the NFL scheduled the Cowboys vs. Giants on that day to avoid a conflict with Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. It will also be the second time in 75 years that the season opener takes place on Wednesday.
Out of the Cardinals, Bears, Patriots, Chiefs, Cowboys, Giants, and the Chargers, one of them could end up playing the season opener against the Seahawks on September 9. The Chiefs have the lowest chance since quarterback Patrick Mahomes is unlikely to return from injury by Week 1.
With a Wednesday opener, a record nine international games, and a new Australian matchup, the official schedule release has become the next major event on an already dramatic NFL offseason calendar.
