The NFL may start its season on Wednesdays, beginning with the 2026 season opener between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. This change aligns with the league's strategy to expand weekday prime-time slots and enhance global reach through partnerships like the one with Netflix.
Because as the leagueâs appetite for weekday prime-time slots continues to expand, donât be surprised if the game is the beginning of a standing Wednesday season opener for the NFL.
Is that the leagueâs hope?
âYes,â NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder said Friday on a conference call. âLook, I think just to hit it head-on: Part of our new partnership with Netflix, which really builds on first and foremost the continued efforts we're going to continue to make globally to bring the game to more of our fans around the world.â
âWe see the game growing, we see flag football growing, we see us being part of the Olympics,â Schroeder said. âThat's all sort of further momentum to everything we're doing to build our sport internationally and around the world. As we do that, we'll likely be playing in other markets. And I think one of the things we liked about with Netflix is the opportunity to really within their now package of games bookend the beginning of the year and the end of the year.
Q&A
Why is the NFL considering starting its season on Wednesdays?
The NFL is exploring Wednesday season openers to expand its weekday prime-time slots and reach more fans globally.
What teams will play in the 2026 NFL season opener?
The 2026 NFL season opener will feature the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks.
How does the NFL's partnership with Netflix influence its scheduling?
The NFL's partnership with Netflix aims to enhance global distribution and viewership, influencing the decision to consider weekday games.
Has the NFL ever started its season on a Wednesday before?
Yes, the NFL has previously started its season on a Wednesday, but it may become a regular occurrence starting in 2026.
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âAnd so as we do that, I think you'll see us certainly playing on a couple weekday nights to start the year going forward, and Netflix will have a Week 1 game going forward as well as part of that package.â
Netflix first broadcast an NFL game on Christmas Day in 2024 and this week confirmed the extension of its NFL broadcasting deal through the 2029-30 season, Sports Business Journal reported.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 18: Drew Lock #2, Jalen Milroe #6 and Sam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks walk out of the tunnel for warmups before the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field on December 18, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
Sam Darnold (14) and the Seahawks will start their title defense on the Wednesday of Week 1 in this upcoming NFL season. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
(Soobum Im via Getty Images)
The league has opened with a Friday night Week 1 international game each of the last two seasons, staging contests in SĂŁo Paolo, Brazil. With Labor Day falling on Sept. 6 this year, the leagueâs opening week hits the second weekend of September. The NFLâs antitrust protection from the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 is contingent upon the league not broadcasting Friday or Saturday from the second Friday of September to the second Saturday in December.
So the league pushed its first-ever Australia game to Thursday night, featuring the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne on Netflix. Then to ensure the defending Super Bowl-champion Seahawks still opened the season with a banner raising, Seattle will host the New England Patriots in a rematch on Wednesday, Sept. 8 on NBC.
The NFL season last opened on a Wednesday in 2012, when Barack Obama was accepting his nomination at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. Before that, the NFL had not opened its season on a Wednesday since 1948, per Pro Football Reference data.
Expect several-day NFL weeks to continue, including this yearâs Thanksgiving slate featuring games on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday.
And expect Week 1 to remain attractive to the league for international games given how it allows teams to return and find some respite from the toll on their bodies, compared to a midseason international game.
The league has long been comfortable with games in Europe and Mexico City throughout the season. But for the first season, the NFL will stage a South America game partway through the year â with no extra recovery time or bye week after. The Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens will face off in Rio de Janeiro in Week 3. Unlike most international games, theyâll play in the Sunday afternoon late window on Sept. 27. Then theyâll fly back for regularly scheduled programming.
âNeither one of them were looking for the Week 4 bye,â NFL vice president of broadcasting planning Mike North said. âThey're both going to keep playing. The Cowboys, in fact, have to go on the road when they get back from Rio because their stadium wasn't available that week.
âSo we're going to learn a lot. Rio in the middle of a season: hopefully doable. Australia in the middle of the season, as Hans said, that one might be a tougher put. And as we continue to expand our eyes on a more far Eastern horizon, whether it's Singapore, Abu Dhabi, China, any of the other things that you've all read about where we might be looking to play a game someday, a Week 1 international foothold is probably something that's going to be pretty consistent.â
