The NFL’s opening week will see a tweak.
According to Joe Flint of Wall Street Journal, the Seattle Seahawks will open the season on Wednesday, September 9th, rather than the first Thursday of the season.
This is because that the NFL is planning on a Week 1 game in Australia. The Rams and 49ers will play in Melbourne to open the season. The Seahawks’ opponent is not yet known, with the NFL to release the schedule in May.
Back in 2012, the NFL opened the season on a Wednesday. The Cowboys and Giants played on a Wednesday in 2012 to avoid a conflict with Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The Wednesday night game will create a conflict in Seattle, with the Mariners and Sounders also scheduled to play that night. The Major League Baseball team and the Major League Soccer are expected to reschedule their games.
The Seahawks will play the Cardinals, Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Chiefs, Chargers or Patriots in the season opener.
The NFL is unable to play a game on Friday in Week 1 this season. Under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, the NFL is banned from televising games on Friday night or Saturday from the second weekend in September through the second weekend in December. The way Labor Day fell in 2024 and 2025, the league was able to play games on the Friday of opening weekend.
