The NFL takeover of the calendar will continue in 2026. The league has moved the season-opening game even earlier while moving closer to seven full days of football.
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According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will open the season on Wednesday, Sept. 9. This game will take place at 8:20 p.m. ET, and it will air on NBC and Peacock. The NFL will reveal the opponent at a later date.
The NFL schedule will continue on Thursday, Sept. 10. The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will face off during a game in Melbourne, Australia. This matchup will air at 8:35 p.m. ET.
The 2025 season started with a game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. This game aired on Thursday, Sept. 4.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has long had his sights set on expansion in multiple ways. For example, he wants to have 16 games as part of the International Series, which would force every team in the league to make one trip abroad.
The league has moved close to this goal with nine international games in 2026. These will take place in Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom (three games), Spain, Mexico, Germany, and France.
The other area of expansion involves the regular season. Goodell wants to have an 18-game regular season, which would require the approval of the NFL Players Association.
The NFL can not add more than 10 international games or another regular season game without approval from the NFLPA as part of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which runs through 2030.
This means that the two sides would have to negotiate, especially with the safety concerns. The added time on the field creates increased risk for injuries and potential long-term damage.
"Yeah, I think (commissioner) Roger (Goodell) and the owners have been very vocal about what they're looking for," JC Tretter, the new NFLPA executive director, told The Athletic. "They can do that. They can share whatever they want. In the end, they have to negotiate with us. My job — our job — is to get us prepared for those moments.
"One, understand what we want, prepare our guys for those moments and make sure they're ready to negotiate. That's a group of our executive committee, that's our negotiating committee. Our board holds the power of the vote, making sure they understand the roles and responsibilities and how we're going to succeed."
When asked about the owners and the NFL wanting to come to the negotiating table in the near future, Tretter said that the answer would be "no." He told The Athletic that they are not going to start negotiating until they are ready. They are still stabilizing the NFLPA after the change in leadership.
