NFL Schedule Release Date: When Will the Slate Be Released?

We are only a quarter of the way through the NFL’s off-season, but anticipation is already building for the return of football. The NFL schedule release has become an event in itself in recent years, as fans get to know which days they’ll need to clear their calendar for in the fall and winter. Below, we’ll take a look at everything we know so far about the NFL schedule and its release date.

When Will the NFL Schedule Be Released?
The full NFL schedule is typically released during the second full week in May each year. Roger Goodell and his schedule minions have held their grand reveal on either a Wednesday or Thursday since 2020.

We project that this year’s release date will come on or around Wednesday, May 13.

The release of the new schedule has become such a big part of the NFL calendar that the league basically has an announcement about the announcement. Last year during the first round of live NFL Draft coverage, ESPN’s Laura Rutledge and NFL Network’s Colleen Wolfe announced which day the NFL would release the full schedule.

Expect that to be the case again this year, so we’ll likely have our official answer on Thursday, April 23.

NFL Schedule Release Date
While we get all of the schedule date and location details on the official NFL schedule release day, the league loves to slow roll things with little nuggets about the schedule in the weeks leading up to the big day.

We already know a decent amount, which we’ll outline below.

The NFL season opener will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Lumen Field in Seattle. The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will host the game against an opponent yet to be named. In the NFL’s never-ending quest to have football on TV every night of the week, the league will break a 14-year tradition by putting the first game of the week on a Wednesday. The NFL season opener is typically on a Thursday night.

Oh, don’t worry. That Thursday night slot will be filled, as the LA Rams and San Francisco 49ers will battle on Sept. 10 in the first NFL regular season game played in Australia. The kickoff of that game will technically be Friday morning at 10:45 a.m. Australia time. That will allow the game to be viewed at 8:35 p.m. ET Thursday in the US.

There are also several other international games we have information on. The Cowboys will play in the first ever game in Rio de Janeiro at a date yet to be decided. The Saints will play in the first-ever game held in Paris. In addition to the Australia game, the 49ers will also play in Mexico City this season. Jacksonville will play two games in London.

The Commanders will also play a game in London.

The Lions will play a game in Munich, and the Falcons will also play a game in Munich.

Best NFL Games for 2026-27 Season
While we don’t have dates and start times for the brunt of games for the 2026-27 NFL season, we do know all of the potential matchups.

Here are some of the best potential games based on storyline.

We will get a Super Bowl rematch during the 2026-27 regular season as the Patriots will face the Seahawks in Seattle.

Seattle has more marquee games, as they’ll host the Giants with new head coach John Harbaugh. Seattle will also face the Eagles in Philly and the Raiders in Las Vegas.

New Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak was the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator last season, and Vegas has a new quarterback in Kirk Cousins.

Super Bowl Odds
The LA Rams are the current favorite to win Super Bowl LXI. LA has +750 odds to win it all. Seattle is +900 to defend its title.

Here is a look at the favorites.