The NFL offseason hits its quietest stretch between the draft and the start of training camp, which begins in July. Rosters are mostly set, and the only real news left before players report is the full schedule release. That makes it the most anticipated event in this dead period.
Even before the official announcement, schedule details have begun leaking through familiar channels, particularly around the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and the league’s first-ever game in Australia.
Details on Date for 2026 NFL Schedule Release
According to CNBC’s Alex Sherman, the league is targeting Wednesday, May 13, or Thursday, May 14, for the full release of the schedule of all 272 regular-season games.
The Seahawks will host the season opener on Wednesday, September 9, making it just the second time in 75 years that the league has opened its season on a Wednesday. The unusual day is due to the Los Angeles Rams’ game against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne the following evening.
With those two NFC West rivals unavailable, the Seahawks’ Week 1 opponent will come from a pool of seven home opponents: the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, and New England Patriots.
The Bears and Patriots appear to be the strongest candidates, as Chicago won the NFC North in 2025, and a Super Bowl 60 rematch against New England carries obvious narrative weight. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has been in the news throughout the offseason because of his alleged relationship with NFL reporter Dianna Russini, and having the reigning AFC champions play in the season opener will be a major boost for ratings.
However, the Cowboys are never far from the conversation when it comes to filling primetime slots, and their impressive offseason moves have made them a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Per @sherman4949 of CNBC, the NFL Schedule Release is expected to take place next Wednesday or Thursday (May 13 or 14).
Ahead of the full release, ESPN and other broadcast partners are expected to announce select games during their Upfront presentations as they did last year. pic.twitter.com/KDP0VbNAGG
— Ozzy (@OzzyNFL) May 7, 2026
As for the Melbourne game, the 49ers will serve as the visiting team against the Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, September 10. Due to the 14-hour time difference, kickoff will be at 10:35 a.m. local time on Friday morning in Australia, which translates to 8:35 p.m. ET on Thursday night in the United States.
The NFL scheduled the game for Week 1 to give both teams the maximum recovery window from the 16-hour flight before their Week 2 matchups.
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One of the more interesting scheduling dynamics involves Kansas City. Three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in a Week 15 loss to the Chargers in December. Although head coach Andy Reid has said Mahomes is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery, the timeline remains uncertain enough that the NFL has not scheduled Kansas City for the season opener.
The smarter move for the league would be to slot the Chiefs into a Monday Night Football window in Week 1, giving Mahomes extra recovery time and turning his return into a standalone television event.
Even before getting hurt, the Chiefs quarterback was not having a great season. In 14 games, he threw for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, while completing 62.7% of his throws.
According to PFSN’s QB Impact Metric, he posted an impact score of 77.2, ranking 17th in the league. So, Mahomes will be determined to put on a show whenever he is fully healthy to step on the field.
