2026 NFL schedule release date is still up in the air: Inside the league's thinking on what date to target

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The calendar officially turned to May on Friday, and for NFL fans, that's generally a time to celebrate, because it means the release of the 2026 schedule will soon be here. Unfortunately, we can't go into full celebration mode just yet because we still don't know exactly when the schedule will be coming out.

The league seems to be targeting a date between May 12 and 14, but that's not set in stone yet. During a recent interview that took place just before the start of the draft, Mike North, the league's vice president of broadcast planning, revealed that the release could potentially be pushed to the following week.

"Most fans know full well that the schedule comes out in mid-May now," North said on the "It's Always Game Day in Buffalo" podcast. "That's what we've done the last five or six years. That's sort of our target. Is there any magic to May 12, 13, 14? No. Is there any real downside to [May] 19, 20 or 21? No."

Last year, the schedule release date was announced during the first night of the NFL Draft. That announcement came on April 24 and the release eventually came on May 14, so fans had nearly three weeks to prepare. This year, fans won't be getting three weeks to prepare.

The NFL did drop several promos about the 2026 schedule release during the draft, but the league didn't offer a specific date for when the schedule might come out.

2026 NFL Schedule Release. Coming soon. pic.twitter.com/WdhWtinWyO

— NFL (@NFL) April 23, 2026

The NFL schedule actually used to come out in April, but the league had to push the release to May in 2020 due to COVID and that's where it's been ever since. The schedule usually comes out on the second Wednesday or second Thursday of May, but it wouldn't be unprecedented for the league to push it slightly farther out. The schedule came out on the third Wednesday of May in 2024 and that May 15 date is still the latest that the schedule has ever been released.

"I don't think it's coming out in June, but that second week in May has been our target the last few years, but I I don't know that it's impossible to think about that third week in May," North said.

There are multiple things that can slow down the schedule-making process, and this year, one of those things is that the NFL is trying to sell a five-game package. The new package would include the Australia game in Week 1 (49ers-Rams), a potential Thanksgiving eve game, a second Black Friday game, a Christmas Eve game and one other game, according to PFT.

"These five games that are out there as a package that are being negotiated right now, love to know when, where those games are going to be played so we can schedule them accordingly," North said.

Front Office Sports reported on April 16 that YouTube was in "advanced" talks to land those five games, so it's certainly possible that wrinkle has been ironed out by now.

North then mentioned several things that could potentially push back the release date of the schedule.

"If those negotiations drag on a little bit longer, North said of the YouTube deal. "Maybe something happens in the draft that surprises us, somebody gets traded -- a quarterback, a big name -- something different at the top of the draft and we need an extra couple of days to adjust and react to it."

The good news for NFL fans is that although the draft was mostly unpredictable, there weren't too many trades or picks that would require the league to go back and re-do the schedule, so it's certainly possible that the NFL is on track for that May 12 through 14 window.

Part of the reason that the NFL is targeting the second week in May (May 12-14) is because that's what fans are used to.

"I don't think there's any real magic to second or third week in May, but, NFL fans know what our calendar is and it's been that second week in May for at least the last five years," North said.

So why can't the league just give us a date? Well, because if the NFL said the schedule was going to be released on May 14 and then it wasn't ready to go on May 14, that would be a problem. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has to sign off on the final version of the schedule before the league announces a release date.

"It doesn't get finalized until the commissioner of the National Football League says it's finalized," North said. "That's why I'm being coy about the date. I don't know the date. None of us know the date yet because we don't know when we're going to walk into the boss's office and present him one. And he's going to say, 'That's perfect. Ready to go. Send it out to the world.'"

If Goodell doesn't like any of the schedules being presented, he's not going to approve one just to make sure the NFL can hit a target release date.

"If we walk in there on May 11th or 12th and he's not happy with where we are, he'll send us back downstairs and we'll lock ourselves back in the room and we'll keep grinding until we find something he likes," North said. "And if it slides to the 18th, 19th or 20th, the world will keep spinning. I'm sure at some point he's going to say, 'All right you morons, I'm not giving you any more time. We got to go.' I hope it doesn't get to that point."

It only takes one small issue to throw a wrench into the schedule-making process, and this year, it wouldn't be surprising if Aaron Rodgers is slowing things down. Last year, North admitted that Rodgers' free agent decision was going to have an impact on the schedule and the same thing could be happening this year.

The Steelers are a team that will always get their fair share of primetime games, but they become much more attractive from a TV standpoint with Rodgers at quarterback versus Mason Rudolph or Will Howard or Drew Allar. Also, if Rodgers were to sign somewhere else, his new team would instantly become more attractive, especially if he signed with someone like the Arizona Cardinals (We outlined why Arizona might make sense for him here).

When the schedule is done, the NFL usually does its best to quickly announce the release date shortly after that. The league has even announced the release date the SAME WEEK as the actual release. In 2023, the NFL announced on May 8 that the schedule would be released on May 11. In 2024, the league announced on May 13 that the schedule would be released on May 15, so if we get through next week and there's still no release date, that doesn't necessarily mean that May 12-14 won't happen.

As North said, fans are used to the second week in May, so the NFL will likely stick with that May 12-14 target unless the league absolutely can't find a schedule it likes before that date.

The 2026 schedule will feature 272 games and although we don't know the time or date for most of those games, we do know who each team will be playing and you can check out the home-and-away opponents for all 32 teams by clicking here.