NFL schedule release 2026: 9 international games are already beginning to leak
Joe Burrow’s Bengals are going to Madrid in Week 9, and more international games are coming.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) looks for hands to shake after the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. The Browns kicked a last second field goal to win 20-18.
| Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Welcome to NFL schedule release week. On Thursday, the NFL will release the entire regular-season schedule for the 2026 campaign. The league is slowly unveiling select games in the coming days, including the nine international games set for the next season.
We already know the first of those games, but we will be tracking those all week long as the NFL sets the stage for the 2026 campaign. What are the nine international games in 2026? As noted above, the NFL has nine slots for international games in 2026.
And the league is not wasting any time in travelling abroad. Week 1: San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams The first international game on the 2026 schedule will be played between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, and is the reason the Seahawks will begin their season on a Wednesday.