{"id":51533,"date":"2026-05-07T21:58:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=51533"},"modified":"2026-05-07T21:58:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:28:33","slug":"nfl-2026-schedule-release-expected-in-may-as-league-plans-record-9-international-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/nfl\/nfl-2026-schedule-release-expected-in-may-as-league-plans-record-9-international-games\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL 2026 schedule release expected in May as league plans record 9 international games"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The NFL\u2019s next major offseason event is quickly approaching as fans wait for the official release of the 2026 to 2027 regular season schedule.<\/p>\n

While the matchups themselves are already known through the league\u2019s scheduling formula, the announcement has become one of the NFL\u2019s biggest annual events. Fans now closely follow everything from primetime games to holiday matchups and viral team schedule release videos.<\/p>\n

The league has not officially confirmed the release date yet. However, expectations continue to build around a mid May launch window.<\/p>\n

NFL schedule release could happen between May 12 and May 21<\/h2>\n

Traditionally, the NFL reveals the regular season schedule during the second week of May.<\/p>\n

However, NFL Vice President of Broadcast Planning Mike North recently suggested the release could happen slightly later than usual.<\/p>\n

According to North, there is no fixed importance around dates like May 12, 13, or 14. He also mentioned there would be no downside to releasing the schedule around May 19, 20, or 21 instead.<\/p>\n

The comments have fueled speculation that fans may need to wait a little longer this year before the full slate becomes official.<\/p>\n

Seahawks to open NFL season on September 9 after Super Bowl LX win<\/h2>\n

The defending Super Bowl champions Seattle Seahawks<\/span><\/span> will officially kick off the new season at Lumen Field on Wednesday, September 9.<\/p>\n

The opener was moved from Thursday to Wednesday because of the NFL\u2019s first ever regular season game in Australia.<\/p>\n

Seattle will celebrate its Super Bowl LX victory before beginning the defense of its championship at home.<\/p>\n

The identity of the Seahawks\u2019 opponent has not been officially confirmed yet, although several high profile possibilities are already generating heavy speculation.<\/p>\n

NFL announces record 9 international games for 2026 season<\/h2>\n

The NFL is continuing its massive international expansion with a record 9 global games planned for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest headlines involves San Francisco 49ers<\/span><\/span> and Los Angeles Rams<\/span><\/span>, who will play the first regular season NFL game ever held in Australia.<\/p>\n

The matchup will take place at Melbourne Cricket Ground<\/span><\/span> in Melbourne on September 11 local time.<\/p>\n

Another major international matchup will feature the Dallas Cowboys<\/span><\/span> facing the Baltimore Ravens<\/span><\/span> in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 27.<\/p>\n

The NFL will also stage games in London, Germany, Spain, Mexico, and France.<\/p>\n

The Jacksonville Jaguars<\/span><\/span> will play two games in London, while the Detroit Lions<\/span><\/span> are scheduled for Germany and the Atlanta Falcons<\/span><\/span> will host a game in Madrid.<\/p>\n

The New Orleans Saints<\/span><\/span> are also set to host the league\u2019s first ever game in Paris.<\/p>\n

NFL holiday schedule expands with Thanksgiving and Christmas games<\/h2>\n

The NFL is once again building a major holiday lineup for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

The traditional Thanksgiving games hosted by the Detroit Lions<\/span><\/span> and Dallas Cowboys<\/span><\/span> will return alongside a primetime Thanksgiving night matchup.<\/p>\n

Reports also suggest the league is considering a Black Friday doubleheader and even exploring the possibility of adding a Thanksgiving Eve game.<\/p>\n

Christmas Day will again feature a tripleheader. The first two games are expected to stream on Netflix, while the primetime game will air on FOX.<\/p>\n

Bills vs Chiefs and Bears vs Packers headline biggest games to watch<\/h2>\n

Several blockbuster matchups are already generating excitement ahead of the schedule release.<\/p>\n

One of the most anticipated games involves the Buffalo Bills<\/span><\/span> facing the Kansas City Chiefs<\/span><\/span> in another clash featuring star quarterback Patrick Mahomes<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Historic rivals Green Bay Packers<\/span><\/span> and Chicago Bears<\/span><\/span> are also expected to deliver major attention after their dramatic meetings last season.<\/p>\n

Another key matchup features the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/span><\/span> and Baltimore Ravens<\/span><\/span> meeting without longtime coaches Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh on the sidelines for the first time in nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n

Fans are also closely watching games involving the Seattle Seahawks<\/span><\/span>, Los Angeles Rams<\/span><\/span>, Philadelphia Eagles<\/span><\/span>, and New England Patriots<\/span><\/span> as the race toward Super Bowl LXI begins taking shape.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NFL\u2019s next major offseason event is quickly approaching as fans wait for the official release of the 2026 to\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":51534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4752],"tags":[5434,4057],"class_list":["post-51533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-nfl-2026","tag-top-stories"],"reading_time":"4 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51535,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51533\/revisions\/51535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}