Hardik Pandya trains for over three hours but set to miss Punjab Kings fixture in Dharamsala
Hardik Pandya trains hard but will miss Punjab Kings match due to injury.
The 2026 NFL schedule will be released on May 14, featuring 272 games. The scheduling process involves determining opponents and arranging matchups, influenced by technology and broadcasting changes.
When it comes to corridors of power and rooms in which negotiations of outsize importance are conducted, midtown Manhattan has several. The “Val Pinchbeck Room” inside NFL headquarters might be the most impactful for the American psyche, though.
Named after the former NFL executive who constructed the NFL season by hand on cork board, the Pinchbeck room is where league executives still hunker down to produce the 272-game itinerary for the upcoming campaign.
Technology, the addition of broadcast – ahem, streaming – partners and a 17th game have changed the process over the years. With the 2026 NFL schedule release set for May 14, here is a look at how the NFL makes its annual schedule.
All teams play 17 games and have one bye week, giving the league 272 matchups to produce. Opponents are determined by the end of the previous season. The order is what makes creating the NFL schedule an ordeal.
Teams alternate seasons in which they host nine regular-season games and one preseason game, or eight regular-season games and two preseason games. The NFC will have nine regular season home games in 2026.
There are several restrictions within each schedule. For example, the Seattle Seahawks will have to play the domestic opener before the first Sunday of the season. There are nine international games slated for 2026, with those matchups typically having designated home teams.
The schedule makers must also work around events previously scheduled in (or near) NFL stadiums – from playing surface questions after a concert to traffic due to a holiday parade. The league begins collecting information from the clubs in January about these events.
Partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the NFL’s thousands of cloud-based computers come up with thousands of schedule scenarios. Then it’s up to the league to figure it out.
More: NFL schedule leaks: Tracking latest news, rumors, updates about 2026 schedule
A handful of individuals are responsible for taking what the computer gives them and figuring out the most ideal circumstance for the 32 teams, the league office and the fans. Those people are:
Longtime schedule supervisor Howard Katz retired after the 2025 schedule was released.
Each team plays the other 31 over a four-year span, which becomes a reality is thanks to a lengthy checklist. Here is how each team’s opponents are set:
OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)
CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)
RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)
WR DJ Moore: Traded to Buffalo Bills (previous team: Chicago Bears)
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OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)
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OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)
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CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)
3 / 4
RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)
4 / 4
WR DJ Moore: Traded to Buffalo Bills (previous team: Chicago Bears)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL schedule release 2026: How opponents, dates are decided and who is in charge
The 2026 NFL schedule is set to be released on May 14.
Each NFL team will play 17 games during the 2026 season.
The schedule-making process is influenced by technology, broadcasting partnerships, and the previous season's outcomes.
The Val Pinchbeck Room at NFL headquarters is where league executives create the NFL schedule, a process that has evolved over the years.
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