The NFL will begin its 2026 season with a Super Bowl rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots as the league expands its international programme to a record nine regular-season games.
Seattle will host New England in the opening game, revisiting the matchup from Super Bowl LX. The Seahawks enter the season seeking to defend their title after a championship campaign that reshaped expectations around the franchise.
The opening game also launches a season in which the NFL will stage regular-season matches across seven countries and four continents.
The international schedule begins with the San Francisco 49ers facing the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia. Other games will take the league to additional overseas markets as the NFL continues to build an audience beyond the United States.
A league increasingly built for a global audience
The international expansion reflects the NFL’s growing effort to turn overseas games into a permanent part of its commercial strategy rather than occasional exhibition events.
The league will have nine regular-season games outside the United States this season, its largest international programme yet. That schedule gives the NFL a presence across markets in Europe, Asia-Pacific and beyond while creating new commercial opportunities for teams and sponsors.
The sporting landscape has also changed considerably since Seattle and New England last met for the championship.
Seattle lost Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to Kansas City, while New England strengthened its roster during the offseason. The Kansas City Chiefs will also begin the season with Patrick Mahomes attempting to return from an ACL injury.
The quarterback landscape has changed elsewhere. Las Vegas will start top draft pick Fernando Mendoza behind veteran Kirk Cousins, while Aaron Rodgers will attempt another career revival in Pittsburgh under coach Mike McCarthy.
Ten teams also enter the season with new head coaches, adding another layer of uncertainty to a league that already has several contenders capable of challenging for the championship.
The season will culminate in Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, at the stadium shared by the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
The NFL therefore enters the new season with two competing ambitions. It wants to preserve the domestic spectacle that has made the league America’s most valuable sports competition while turning international audiences into a larger part of its long-term business.
