Circle The Dates: NFL Moves ’26 Season Opening Kickoff, Followed By Australia
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 06:07PM By Barry Janoff
March 25, 2026: The NFL season just got one day closer. Literally.
The NFL said today that 2026 NFL Kickoff presented by YouTube TV is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9 (8 PM ET) on NBC and Peacock in Seattle with the defending Super Bowl LX champion Seahawks.
The league moved what has become its Thursday night opener up a day to accommodate the San Francisco 49ers facing the Los Angeles Rams in the first NFL regular season game in league history in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday Sept. 10 (approximately 8:30 PM ET/Friday, Sept. 11 approximately 10:30 AM AEST) in Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Seahawks Week 1 opponent will be named when the full 2026 NFL regular season schedule is released in May, as will the dates and opponents for NFL international games.
The Seattle game is expected to feature the raising of the Super Bowl LX banner for the team’s 29-13 win over New England Patriots
Regarding Australia, Stephanie Cheng, Rams Head of International, said via the team, “We are thrilled to kick off our season in Melbourne, enhancing an already historic moment for both the NFL and the Rams.
“Every time members of our organization visit, including earlier this month, we see first-hand the growing excitement from folks across Melbourne in anticipation of this game. Not only will it be special playing the 49ers on a Friday morning in Australia, it also will be great for our fans back at home to be able to watch this match up in primetime on Thursday night."
The NFL has scheduled nine international games for 20l26, with plans for more. According to commissioner Roger Goodel, the league will eventually have 16 international games a year so each team plays one.
"It's the ambition we have to be a global sport," Goodell said during a Super Bowl media conference. "But it's also the demand we're having. We're hearing from cities that want to host these games and really want to get more American football."
"That's an important mark (16) to shoot for and I think we're on our way.”
The NFL will play the first regular season game in its history in Paris, France in 2026 in the Stade de France —the country's national stadium — with the New Orleans Saints named as one of the participating teams.
“Bringing a regular season game to Paris in 2026 marks an exciting next step in the continued expansion of the league’s global footprint,” Goodell said via the NFL.
““Paris is one of the world’s greatest sporting and cultural cities with tremendous success in hosting global events that unite fans on the biggest stages. Playing our first‑ever regular season game at the impressive Stade de France, together with the New Orleans Saints, underlines our continued global growth ambitions and we look forward to bringing the NFL to our passionate fans in France.”
Beginning with the 2026 season, the NFL will return to Mexico City to play regular season games for the next three years in Estadio Banorte, starting in the 2026 season (49ers hosting); and will return to Madrid, Spain to play a regular season game (Atlanta Falcons hosting) in Bernabéu Stadium — home to Real Madrid C.F — in a multi-year partnership with the City of Madrid and Comunidad de Madrid.
The NFL has also confirmed other 2026 regular season international games, including one game in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (Dallas Cowboys hosting) in Maracanã Stadium; one game in Munich, Germany in FC Bayern Munich Arena (Detroit Lions hosting); and three games in London: two games in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington Commanders each hosting) one game in Wembley Stadium (Jaguars hosting).
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