Every NFL team’s home and away opponents have been decided since the conclusion of last NFL season. However, aside from a few select matchups that have been announced, the rest of the schedule remains a mystery. That will all change soon, with the official 2026 NFL schedule release show officially set for Thursday, May 14.
With the schedule release comes the onslaught of schedule release videos from each team (hopefully including another A+ release from the Los Angeles Chargers social media team) — and, of course, fans can officially start to plan their attendance schedules for the season.
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Keep in mind that the 2026 season will feature more international matchups than ever, including the first Australian NFL game featuring the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne for the second game of the season.
NBC/Peacock also announced it’s secured the rights to an extra NFL game during Week 17 of the regular season, per Awful Announcing. The game is being branded as an “NFL Holiday Special” and will be played on Saturday, January 2, at 4:30 p.m. ET. After that game, Peacock will stream an exclusive NFL game in prime time, at 8 p.m. ET.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest news, rumors and more leading up to the 2026 NFL schedule release:
Live8 updatesMon, May 11, 2026 at 11:05 AM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
We don’t know for sure how accurate this will be until we see how good these teams are in the 2026 season. But here’s who’s sitting pretty — and who’s not — with regard to opponents’ strength heading into the season:
Mon, May 11, 2026 at 10:15 AM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The 2026-27 NFL schedule is beginning to come together, and NBC is getting an extra slice of pie.
On Monday, the network announced it has secured the rights to an extra NFL game during Week 17 of the regular season. The game, which is being branded as an NFL Holiday Special, will be played on Saturday, January 2, at 4:30 p.m. ET and be broadcast live across NBC and Peacock. Following the afternoon affair, Peacock will stream an exclusive NFL game in primetime, with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Teams for both games will be announced later this week when the NFL releases its full schedule on Thursday.
Learn more via Awful Announcing at Yahoo Sports
Mon, May 11, 2026 at 10:00 AM PDT
Frank Schwab
The Seattle Seahawks did well the only other time they got to kick off the NFL regular season.
After Seattle’s first Super Bowl championship, they hosted the Green Bay Packers in the opening game of the 2014 season. In an NFC championship game rematch from the previous season, the Seahawks beat the Packers 36-16. The NFL is hoping for a more competitive game this season when the Seahawks kick off the season at home, a perk of being the defending Super Bowl champions.
Seattle has a fun schedule and a lot of good options for the NFL to pick from for that Week 1 game, which will be on Wednesday, Sept. 9. The Seahawks have nine home games this season and we know their opponents, though two potential opponents will be on the other side of the world. Let’s try to predict who Seattle will play to kick off the 2026 NFL regular season.
Read more about the Seahawks’ schedule here.
Mon, May 11, 2026 at 9:00 AM PDT
Chris Cwik
The NFL announced that the 2026 schedule will be fully unveiled Thursday, May 14. The release show will be at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network, ESPN2 and NFL+.
The schedule release trickle will begin earlier than that, however. The NFL’s official release said “broadcast partners will announce select games” in the days leading up to the full show.
This coincides with networks and streamers holding their upfronts next week, including NBC/Peacock, Fox and Amazon on Monday, Disney (ABC/ESPN) on Tuesday, and Netflix and YouTube on Wednesday.
CBS already held its upfronts, but its flagship “CBS Mornings” show has regularly revealed big matchups throughout schedule weeks past, so expect that again.
Mon, May 11, 2026 at 8:00 AM PDT
Chris Cwik
Multiple teams have delighted fans in recent years, but the Los Angeles Chargers have consistently won the day.
The Chargers typically rank among the best-received schedule-release videos every season thanks to their creativity, humor and willingness to pull no punches with their opponents.
They’ve taken on various controversies in the sport in previous schedule-release videos and are likely to take that same track again in 2026.
Last year, the Chargers released their schedule with a Minecraft-themed video … and it didn’t disappoint:
Mon, May 11, 2026 at 7:40 AM PDT
Charles Robinson
Aaron Rodgers is in Pittsburgh. Unless he isn’t. He’s signing a contract. Or not. He’s going to be meeting with the Steelers. Or general manager Omar Khan doesn’t actually know where he is.
So … yeah. It’s early May and until a contract is nailed down for 2026, we have little tangible evidence that a Steelers and Rodgers reunion is closer than it was in February. Other than the ticking offseason clock that naturally pushes the two closer together — but only because there isn’t an infinite amount of time left to avoid engaging in actual on-field football activities.
Will Rodgers be part of Steelers in 2026? And does it even matter in face of rebuild?
Aaron Rodgers still hasn’t committed to the Steelers this season. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
(Michael Owens via Getty Images)Mon, May 11, 2026 at 6:58 AM PDT
Chris Cwik
A couple of 2026 NFL games and opponents have already been revealed by the league, including:
Thursday, Sept. 10: San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, 8:35 p.m. ET (kickoff Friday at 10:35 a.m. local time to account for American TV time difference)
In addition to that, fans know the defending champion Seattle Seahawks will open the 2026 NFL season on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Their opponent has not been chosen yet, though it’s almost certain to be another one of the league’s premier franchises.
Mon, May 11, 2026 at 6:51 AM PDT
Chris Cwik
Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season will begin in a familiar fashion: With the Dallas Cowboys in a prime-time game. The Cowboys will open the regular season with a “Sunday Night Football” matchup against the division-rival New York Giants.
The game will take place on Sept. 13 on NBC and Peacock.
The game should draw massive interest from fans. On the Cowboys’ end, the team remains one of the most popular in the sport. After a middling season, in which they finished 7-9-1, the Cowboys picked up arguably the best player in the 2026 NFL Draft, trading up for safety Caleb Downs.
For New York, it will mark the first game of the John Harbaugh era. After 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh parted ways with the franchise in January. It didn’t take long for him to land with the Giants.
Read more here.