With free agency and the NFL Draft officially over, the next big date on the NFL calendar is the schedule release. There were rumors that it may have to be pushed back, but on Friday, the NFL announced that the full 18-week schedule will drop on Thursday, May 14th at 8 p.m. ET.
While the schedule isn’t officially set yet, we already know who everyone will be playing, we’re just waiting on official dates and times. But the opponents are only part of the fun. Learning how many primetime games your team has and when your team will face their biggest rivals is the main reason we all tune into the schedule release.
The schedule release may not seem like a big deal, but bye weeks, cold weather games and consecutive away games can really change the outcome of a season. Some teams will be very happy with their schedule on Thursday, while others will be furious with a long road trip or a super early bye.
We’re going to be talking about the schedule release quite a bit in the upcoming weeks, but let’s talk a little bit about what we already know.
NFL’s International Schedule
Earlier this year, the NFL announced that there will officially be nine international games this year taking place in seven different countries. The international slate will actually be announced on Wednesday, May 13th, so keep your eye out for that the day before the full schedule release.
London was the birth place of the NFL outside of the United States, and they’re set to host three games this year. The Jacksonville Jaguars will play there twice, while the Washington Commanders are set to take part in the third game. We don’t know who those teams will face in those games or when they will occur, but we know those two will play in London this year.
The NFL will also be expanding its reach all the way to Australia this year. In Week 1, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will face off on Thursday night, one day after the season opener (which we’ll talk about in a minute).
The only other international game that has been confirmed is the Rio game, where the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys will face off in Week 3. This will also be the first time the NFL has played a game in Rio, Brazil. And while we’re on the topic of new cities hosting NFL games, let’s talk about the Paris game. The New Orleans Saints are set to host an unknown opponent in Paris, France, likely sometime in October.
The NFL will also have two more games in Europe this season. The Detroit Lions will play an unknown opponent in Munich, Germany, and the Atlanta Falcons will play an unknown opponent in Madrid, Spain.
And to wrap it all up, the 49ers are set to play a second international game in Mexico City, Mexico against an unknown opponent.
Rumors will start swirling as to who these unknown opponents will be over the next week, but we’ll get official word on Wednesday.
What Else Do We Know?
We don’t know any other games, but we do have some scheduling quirks to mention.
Everyone rejoice! Monday Night Football double headers are no more! That’s right, for the first time since 2022, there will be no MNF double headers, and I, for one, could not be more happy. And I think many will agree with me on that one.
The NFL is also expected to implement a Thanksgiving Eve game for the first time ever. Instead of just having three games on Thursday, there’s expected to be a Wednesday night game the day before. Will be interesting to see, because those two teams have to be coming off a bye week or a Thursday night game, given the short turnaround.
The NFL is also floating around the idea of a Black Friday double header. This means we could have a game on Wednesday, three games Thursday and two games on Friday of Thanksgiving week. May I asked who asked for that? I think three games on Thanksgiving was fine with everyone.
That’s all we know about the 2026 NFL schedule…For now. There will be leaks throughout the week, so make sure you continue to check in with EssentiallySports for all the latest scheduling news.
