The NFL has announced that the 2026 regular season will kick off on Wednesday, September 9 with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks hosting an opponent to be determined at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash.
The Seahawks’ opponent for the season-opener will be announced when the complete 2026 NFL schedule is revealed later this spring. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:20pm ET / 5:20pm PT and it will be broadcast live via NBC and Peacock.
The NFL also announced today that the San Francisco 49ers will face the Los Angeles Rams in the first-ever regular season game in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday, Sept. 10 at approximately 8:35pm ET / 5:35pm PT. That contest will be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere and the eleventh-largest stadium globally.
The 49ers-Rams contest in Australia is one of a record nine NFL international games set for the 2026 season. Three games will be played in England (London), while games will also be played in Spain (Madrid), Mexico (Mexico City), Germany (Munich), France (Paris), and Brazil (Rio De Janeiro).
Earlier this month, it was announced that the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers will meet in the 2026 NFL/Hall of Fame Game. That preseason contest is slated to be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Thursday, August 6, 2026. The game will kickoff at 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT and will be nationally televised by NBC and streamed via Peacock.
NFL Schedules
So the game in Australia will be played on a Friday morning at about 11:35? 🤔
Sounds about right. If major baseball (MLB) and soccer (international tournament) games can be played during work hours of a regular work day (and they regularly are), I don’t see why American football games can’t be . . .
So sad to see that so many NFL games will not be played in home NFL stadiums where their loyal fans can see them play. I guess at some point, the League will schedule 1 out of every 4 games to be played at an international location.
I have lost a lot of interest in the NFL in recent years.
I never had an interest in the NFL, but . . . why are you sad? Even with all these international games, NFL teams (besides maybe the Jaguars, who only consider Jacksonville a nominal home) will play as many or more home games than they did when they played only 16 regular season games. Did you consider it “sad” that the NFL only played 16 regular season games for a long time?
Heck, for that matter, do you even attend NFL games or live close to your home NFL team? If not, it seems even more ridiculous to me for you to be sad about the number of NFL games that are played at home. . . .
I am going to be creative for example I am an Eagles fan living in Richmond, VA & Commanders are hosting Seahawks in London at 9:30AM local time & FOX is scheduled to have a doubleheader with Giants at Eagles at 1:00PM & Bears at Bills at 4:25PM & Cowboys will host Buccaneers on NBC Sunday Night Football.
NFL International games can help fans to see teams like Eagles in Richmond, VA with a 1:00PM kickoff while Commanders are across the pond in London & there are some positiveness for fans that they can see teams that they do not usually see on Sunday afternoon.
We have had instances where teams threatened to move unless their municipalities agreed to fund all or portion of their stadiums. There are only eight or nine regular season games per season plus one or two sham preseason games. Shipping off all of these games overseas is a slap in the face of the American fans. And it deprives American cities of the economic benefit of a weekend of NFL football. You ever notice how the EPL never outsources games to the US? Why are we sending so many games away? And Australia? Literally the other side of the planet. To play a game that might be the difference in who win the NFC West? Absurd. You want to play one or two games internationally a year, preferably Europe, have at it. To play NINE games, and many more in future seasons, is a middle finger to the devoted fans of the league. Baseball plays 162 games a season and limits the number of international games to a few a season.
Gerry: That’s why it’s stupid for local governments to give hard-earned taxpayer dollars to billionaires who own immensely profitable sports franchises. ESPECIALLY NFL teams, who play only a handful of home games a year anyway, so any economic impact is too tiny to matter.
Also, while the EPL/English leagues haven’t done so yet, major European countries/federations/leagues (like Spain, France, and Italy) HAVE moved major games (like their cup competition title matches, so even more important than a regular season NFL game) abroad to earn more money. You just haven’t heard of that because most of them are played in the Middle East.
But back to the NFL: Even with a bunch of international games now, no NFL team (besides the Jags) would average fewer home games than back when the NFL only played 16 games in the regular season, so how did you ever survive that era?
Gerry: Sorry, I remembered wrong: Spain, Italy, and France play their Supercups abroad.
Still in general more significant games than just a regular NFL game.
Granted, I do agree with you that the NFL should never hold divisional rivalry games abroad as those should be HaH.
I am excellent with having divisional games being played internationally with 49ers-Rams in Melbourne & Colts-Jaguars in London.
Anyways Gerry NFL is better off to watch on TV than going to a game in person which is very, very expansive.
in addition to 49ers-Rams in Melbourne.
I really would want to see Rams-Cardinals & Seahawks-49ers on Thursday Night Football during 2026 regular season for two other NFC west match ups.
Chiefs would make an excellent opponent for Super Bowl LX champions Seahawks & division rival Patriots would make an excellent opponent for Bills grand opening of new Highmark Stadium for first Monday Night Football game September 14th.
Furthermore, Chiefs is my educated guess for Seahawks opponent for NFL opening kickoff September 9th.
Mahomes may not even be ready for Week 1. They are not going to risk putting Justin Fields in the standalone opening game. Bears are the most logical opponent.
My Bears would be excellent with me Gerry.
Excuse me WHY??????????
1. Money
2. Marketing (meaning more money in the future)
Do folks really expect the NFL (or any sports league) to not try to maximize revenues?
First Conference USA, now the NFL
Everyone is stealing the MAC’s gimmick! #MACtion
Are you seriously comparing the MAC to NFL? People actually watch NFL games, just FYI.
Someone here doesn’t have a sense of humor, it seems . . .
International game Netflix should televise is Jaguars at London Wembley Stadium.