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* Quarterbacks [[Kirk Cousins]] (Atlanta to Las Vegas), [[Gardner Minshew]] (Kansas City to Arizona), [[Kyler Murray]] (Arizona to Minnesota), [[Tua Tagovailoa]] (Miami to Atlanta), and [[Malik Willis]] (Green Bay to Miami)
* Quarterbacks [[Kirk Cousins]] (Atlanta to Las Vegas), [[Gardner Minshew]] (Kansas City to Arizona), [[Kyler Murray]] (Arizona to Minnesota), [[Tua Tagovailoa]] (Miami to Atlanta), and [[Malik Willis]] (Green Bay to Miami)
* Running backs [[Rico Dowdle]] (Carolina to Pittsburgh), [[Travis Etienne]] (Jacksonville to New Orleans), [[Kenneth Gainwell]] (Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay), [[Isiah Pacheco]] (Kansas City to Detroit), [[Patrick Ricard (American football)|Patrick Ricard]] (Baltimore to New York Giants), [[Kenneth Walker III]] (Seattle to Kansas City), and [[Rachaad White]] (Tampa Bay to Washington)
* Running backs [[Rico Dowdle]] (Carolina to Pittsburgh), [[Travis Etienne]] (Jacksonville to New Orleans), [[Kenneth Gainwell]] (Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay), [[Isiah Pacheco]] (Kansas City to Detroit), [[Patrick Ricard (American football)|Patrick Ricard]] (Baltimore to New York Giants), [[Kenneth Walker III]] (Seattle to Kansas City), and [[Rachaad White]] (Tampa Bay to Washington)
* Wide receivers [[Marquise Brown]] (Kansas City to Philadelphia), [[Romeo Doubs]] (Green Bay to New England), [[Mike Evans (wide receiver)|Mike Evans]] (Tampa Bay to San Francisco), [[Jauan Jennings]] (San Francisco to Minnesota), [[Darnell Mooney]] (Atlanta to New York Giants), [[Kalif Raymond]] (Detroit to Chicago), [[Wan'Dale Robinson]] (New York Giants to Tennessee), and [[JuJu Smith-Schuster]] (Kansas City to New York Giants)
* Wide receivers [[Marquise Brown]] (Kansas City to Philadelphia), [[Romeo Doubs]] (Green Bay to New England), [[Mike Evans (wide receiver)|Mike Evans]] (Tampa Bay to San Francisco), [[Jauan Jennings]] (San Francisco to Minnesota), [[Darnell Mooney]] (Atlanta to New York Giants), [[Kalif Raymond]] (Detroit to Chicago), and [[Wan'Dale Robinson]] (New York Giants to Tennessee).
* Tight ends [[Noah Fant]] (Cincinnati to New Orleans), [[Isaiah Likely]] (Baltimore to New York Giants), [[Foster Moreau]] (New Orleans to Houston), and [[David Njoku]] (Cleveland to Los Angeles Chargers).
* Tight ends [[Noah Fant]] (Cincinnati to New Orleans), [[Isaiah Likely]] (Baltimore to New York Giants), [[Foster Moreau]] (New Orleans to Houston), and [[David Njoku]] (Cleveland to Los Angeles Chargers).
* Offensive linemen [[David Edwards (offensive lineman)|David Edwards]] (Buffalo to New Orleans), [[Zion Johnson]] (Los Angeles Chargers to Cleveland), [[Tyler Linderbaum]] (Baltimore to Las Vegas), [[Dylan Parham]] (Las Vegas to New York Jets), [[Wyatt Teller]] (Cleveland to Houston), and [[Alijah Vera-Tucker]] (New York Jets to New England)
* Offensive linemen [[David Edwards (offensive lineman)|David Edwards]] (Buffalo to New Orleans), [[Zion Johnson]] (Los Angeles Chargers to Cleveland), [[Tyler Linderbaum]] (Baltimore to Las Vegas), [[Dylan Parham]] (Las Vegas to New York Jets), [[Wyatt Teller]] (Cleveland to Houston), and [[Alijah Vera-Tucker]] (New York Jets to New England)

Revision as of 19:36, 2 June 2026

This article is about the American football season in the United States. For the Gaelic football season in Ireland, see 2026 National Football League (Ireland).

2026 NFL season
Regular season
DurationSeptember 9, 2026 (2026-09-09) – January 10, 2027 (2027-01-10)
Playoffs
Start dateJanuary 16, 2027 (2027-01-16)
Super Bowl LXI
DateFebruary 14, 2027
SiteSoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Pro Bowl
DateFebruary 2027
SiteTBD
2026 NFL season is located in the United States
Patriots
Patriots
Bills
Bills
Dolphins
Dolphins
Jets
Jets
Bengals
Bengals
Ravens
Ravens
Steelers
Steelers
Browns
Browns
Colts
Colts
Titans
Titans
Jaguars
Jaguars
Texans
Texans
Broncos
Broncos
Chiefs
Chiefs
Raiders
Raiders
Chargers
Chargers
AFC teams: West, North, South, East
2026 NFL season is located in the United States
Cowboys
Cowboys
Giants
Giants
Eagles
Eagles
Commanders
Commanders
Bears
Bears
Lions
Lions
Packers
Packers
Vikings
Vikings
Falcons
Falcons
Panthers
Panthers
Saints
Saints
Buccaneers
Buccaneers
Cardinals
Cardinals
Rams
Rams
Seahawks
Seahawks
49ers
49ers
NFC teams: West, North, South, East

The 2026 NFL season is scheduled to be the 107th season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season is scheduled to begin on September 9, 2026,[1] and will end on January 10, 2027. The playoffs will begin on January 16 and conclude with Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on February 14.

Player movement

The 2026 NFL league year and trading period began on March 11. Beginning March 9, teams were allowed to exercise options for 2026 on players with option clauses in their contracts, submit qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents, and submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2025 contracts and fewer than three accrued seasons of free agent credit. Teams were required to be under the salary cap using the "top 51" definition (in which the 51 highest paid-players on the team's payroll must have a combined salary cap). On March 11, clubs were allowed to contact and begin contract negotiations with players whose contracts had expired and thus became unrestricted free agents.[2]

This season's salary cap was set to a new high of $301.2 million per team, a $22 million per team increase from the previous season.[3]

Positions key
Offense Defense Special teams
  1. ^ Includes nose tackle (NT)
  2. ^ Includes middle linebacker (MLB/MIKE), weakside linebacker (WILL), strongside linebacker (SAM), off-ball linebacker, and outside linebacker (OLB)
  3. ^ Includes free safety (FS) and strong safety (SS)
  4. ^ Also known as a placekicker (PK)
  5. ^ Includes kickoff and punt returners

Free agency

Free agency began on March 11. Notable players to change teams include:[2]

Trades

The following notable trades were made during the 2026 league year:

  • March 11: Las Vegas traded QB Geno Smith and a 2026 seventh-round selection to the New York Jets in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round selection.[4]
  • March 11: Detroit traded RB David Montgomery to Houston in exchange for C Juice Scruggs, 2026 fourth-round and 2027 seventh-round selections.[5]
  • March 11: Chicago traded WR D. J. Moore and a 2026 fifth-round selection to Buffalo in exchange for a 2026 second-round selection.[6]
  • March 11: Kansas City traded CB Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for their 2026 first- (No. 29), fifth-, and sixth-round selections and a 2027 third-round selection.[7]
  • March 11: Miami traded S Minkah Fitzpatrick to the New York Jets in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round selection.[8]
  • March 11: Green Bay traded DT Colby Wooden to Indianapolis in exchange for LB Zaire Franklin.[9]
  • March 11: Green Bay traded DE Rashan Gary to Dallas in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round selection.[10]
  • March 11: Tennessee traded DT T'Vondre Sweat to the New York Jets in exchange for DE Jermaine Johnson II.[11]
  • March 11: Dallas traded DT Osa Odighizuwa to San Francisco in exchange for a 2026 third-round selection.[12]
  • March 11: Buffalo traded CB Taron Johnson and a 2026 seventh-round selection to Las Vegas in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round selection.[13]
  • March 18: Miami traded WR Jaylen Waddle and a 2026 fourth-round selection to Denver in exchange for a 2026 first- (No. 30), third-, and fourth-round selections.[14]
  • March 20: Philadelphia traded S Sydney Brown and 2026 fourth- and sixth-round selections to Atlanta in exchange for 2026 fourth- and sixth-round selections.[15]
  • March 24: Carolina traded QB Andy Dalton to Philadelphia in exchange for a 2027 seventh-round selection.[16]
  • April 17: Atlanta traded DT Ruke Orhorhoro to Jacksonville in exchange for DT Maason Smith.[17]
  • April 19: The New York Giants traded DT Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati in exchange for a 2026 first-round selection (No. 10).[18]
  • April 24: Minnesota traded LB Jonathan Greenard to Philadelphia in exchange for a 2026 third-round selection and a 2027 third-round selection.[19]
  • June 1: Cleveland traded DE Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for DE Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round selection, a 2028 second-round selection and a 2029 third-round selection.[20]
  • June 1: Philadelphia traded WR A. J. Brown to New England in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round selection and a 2028 first-round selection.[21]

Retirements

Notable retirements

  • LB Lavonte David – One-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro (one first-team, two second-team), and Super Bowl LV champion. Played for Tampa Bay during his entire 14-year career.[22]
  • CB Stephon Gilmore – Five-time Pro Bowler, two-time first-team All-Pro, Super Bowl LIII champion, and 2019 Defensive Player of the Year. Played for Buffalo, New England, Carolina, Indianapolis, Dallas and Minnesota during his 13-year career.[23]
  • WR T. Y. Hilton – Four-time Pro Bowler. Played for Indianapolis and Dallas during his 11-year career.[24]
  • CB Xavien Howard – Four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro (one first-team, one second-team). Played for Miami and Indianapolis during his nine-year career.[25]
  • C Ryan Kelly – Four-time Pro Bowler and one-time second-team All-Pro. Played for Indianapolis and Minnesota during his 10-year career.[26]
  • QB Philip Rivers – Eight-time Pro Bowler and 2013 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Played for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis during his 18-year career.[27]
  • S Justin Simmons – Two-time Pro Bowler and four-time second-team All-Pro. Player for Denver and Atlanta during his nine-year career.[28]
  • CB Darius Slay – Six-time Pro Bowler, one-time first-team All-Pro, and Super Bowl LIX champion. Played for Detroit, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh during his 13-year career.[29]

Other retirements

Draft

The 2026 NFL draft took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from April 23 – 25, with events held at Acrisure Stadium, Point State Park, and other venues throughout the city.[69] Las Vegas, by virtue of having the worst record in 2025, held the first overall selection and selected Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.[70]

The amount of time allotted for each team to make a selection in the first round was reduced from ten to eight minutes beginning with the 2026 draft.[71]

2026 deaths

Pro Football Hall of Fame members

Raymond Berry
Berry played 13 seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver for the Baltimore Colts, and spent over three decades as a coach, including six seasons as the head coach of the New England Patriots. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973. He was a six-time All-Pro (three first-team, three second-team), six-time Pro Bowler, and two-time NFL champion in 1958 and 1959. He died May 25, age 93.[72]
Sonny Jurgensen
Jurgensen played 18 seasons in the NFL as a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983. He was a four-time All-Pro (two first-team, two second-team), five-time Pro Bowler, and won the 1960 NFL Championship with the Eagles. He died February 6, age 91.[73]

Active personnel

Rondale Moore
Moore was a wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings for five seasons. He died on February 21, age 25.[74]

Rule changes

The following rule changes were adopted at the NFL Owners' Meeting on March 31, 2026:[75][76]

  • The kickoff rules that were implemented in 2024 were modified for the second consecutive year:
    • Onside kicks will now be permitted anytime during the game. Previously, they were restricted to only be made by the trailing team in the fourth quarter.
    • If a kickoff is moved to the 50-yard line due to one or more penalties, a touchback will place the ball at the receiving team's 20-yard line instead of the 35-yard line.
    • The formation rules of the receiving team were adjusted to require five players to have their front foot on the setup line. Previously, six players were required at the setup line.
  • An expansion to the replay assist rules:
    • A replay can initiate a review about whether a player should be ejected from the game even if there was no flag thrown for it first.
    • If the league has to use replacement officials this season due to a labor dispute between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association, the NFL Officiating department would then be able to "correct clear and obvious mistakes made by on-field officials that impact the game".

Preseason

The Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers will play in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 6. The Cardinals are represented in the hall's class of 2026 by Larry Fitzgerald, and the Panthers are represented by Luke Kuechly.[77]

Regular season

The season is planned to be played over an 18-week schedule, beginning on September 9. Each of the league's 32 teams plays 17 games, with one bye week. The regular season is scheduled to end on January 10, 2027; all games during the final weekend will be intra-division games, as it has been since 2010.

Each team will play the other three teams in its own division twice, one game against each of the four teams from a division in its own conference, one game against each of the four teams from a division in the other conference, one game against each of the remaining two teams in its conference that finished in the same position in their respective divisions the previous season (e.g., the team that finished fourth in its division would play all three other teams in its conference that also finished fourth in their divisions), and one game against a team in another division in the other conference that also finished in the same position in their respective division the previous season.[78]

The division pairings for 2026 are as follows:[78]

Four intra-conference games
AFC East vs AFC West
AFC North vs AFC South
NFC East vs NFC West
NFC North vs NFC South

Four interconference games
AFC East vs NFC North
AFC North vs NFC South
AFC South vs NFC East
AFC West vs NFC West

Interconference game by 2025 position
AFC East at NFC West
AFC North at NFC East
AFC South at NFC North
AFC West at NFC South

Highlights of the 2026 season are planned to include the following (with the full schedule released on May 14, 2026):[79][80][81]

  • Thanksgiving: Three Thanksgiving Day games are planned to be held on November 26, with Chicago at Detroit and Philadelphia at Dallas in the traditional afternoon doubleheader, and Kansas City at Buffalo as the primetime game. One game will be scheduled on the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving (Denver at Pittsburgh).[92][93] For the first time, a game will be scheduled on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, with Green Bay at the Los Angeles Rams.[94][95]
  • Christmas: Christmas Day, December 25, lands on a Friday. The league scheduled three games on Christmas Day this season: Green Bay at Chicago and Buffalo at Denver as an afternoon doubleheader and Los Angeles Rams at Seattle in primetime, additionally the league will play a single game on Christmas Eve (Houston at Philadelphia).[96]

Flexible scheduling rules

This will be the fourth season of the league's flexible scheduling system that includes Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and cross-flexing (switching) of Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox.[97][98][99]

Flexible scheduling for TNF games remain the same as the previous season: only two games can be flexed between weeks 13 and 17,[100][101] teams are not required to flex into TNF more than once, teams are not allowed to play more than two Thursday games on short rest during the season, and teams cannot play multiple away TNF games during the season without their approval, and the league has a deadline of 21 days to flex any eligible game into TNF.[100]

The other flexible scheduling rules remained the same as in 2025. Any Monday Night Football game will be allowed to be flexed between weeks 12 and 17; the league is required to announce its rescheduling no later than 12 days before the contests. For Sunday Night Football, no more than two games can be flexed between weeks 5 and 10, while any game between weeks 11 to 17 could be flexed; the league will be required to give weeks 5 to 13 SNF games a 12-day notice, and weeks 14 to 17 a 6-day notice. All Week 18 games will be initially listed as "TBD", with the league announcing its schedule after Week 17 games are completed.[101]

Additionally, CBS and Fox will have the ability to protect games from being moved (except for Week 18 contests), either from a change to another network or a change of the time slot. When the initial season schedule was created, the two networks selected a limited number of games involving a specific number of teams from their respective conference. Otherwise, every game can be initially scheduled on any network regardless of conference.[102] After the season starts, each network is allowed to protect one game each week from being flexed.[103]

Scheduling changes

  • Week 16: Four games have been set aside to potentially be moved into a doubleheader on Saturday, December 26: Tampa Bay–Atlanta, Cincinnati–Indianapolis, Washington–Minnesota, and Carolina–Pittsburgh. Two of those games will be moved to Saturday at 4:30 and 8:00 p.m. ET, both on NFL Network. The remaining two games will be played on Sunday, December 27 (subject to additional flexing).[104]
  • Week 17: Four games have been set aside to potentially be moved into a doubleheader on Saturday, January 2: Washington–Jacksonville, Kansas City–Los Angeles Chargers, Denver–New England, and Los Angeles Rams–Tampa Bay. Two of those games will be moved to Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC and 8:00 p.m. ET on Peacock. The remaining two games will be played on Sunday, January 3 (subject to additional flexing).[105]
  • Week 18: All Week 18 games are initially listed with a kickoff time of "TBD". Three games with playoff implications are planned to be moved to Saturday, January 9 at 1:00 p.m. ET on Netflix, 4:30 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN and 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN. Another game with playoff implications will be selected as the final NBC Sunday Night Football game at 8:20 p.m. ET. All remaining games will then be scheduled on Sunday afternoon at either 1:00 or 4:25 p.m. ET on either CBS or Fox.[106]

Postseason

The 2026 playoffs are scheduled to begin with the Wild Card Round from January 16–18, 2027, with three games played in each conference. In the Divisional Round, scheduled for January 23–24, the top seed in the conference will play the lowest remaining seed and the other two remaining teams play each other. The winners of those games advance to the Conference Championship games scheduled for January 31. Super Bowl LXI is scheduled for February 14 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. This will be the latest date the NFL has ever held a Super Bowl game.[107]

Notable events

Referee collective bargaining agreement

The collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) expires on May 31, 2026. If no agreement is reached by that date, the league will lockout its regular game officials and then use replacement referees for the first time since the 2012 NFL referee lockout. One issue under dispute is that the referees' union wants an annual salary increase of 10 percent per year for the next six years, while the league has offered just 6.45 percent. The league also wants additional performance standards such as increasing the probationary period for new officials from three to five years, and award more playoff games based on performance instead of seniority.[108] On May 8, 2026, the NFL and the NFLRA ratified a new 7–year CBA, which runs until the 2032 season.

Head coaching and general manager changes

Head coaches

Off-season

Team Departing coach Interim coach Incoming coach Reason for leaving Notes
Arizona Cardinals Jonathan Gannon Mike LaFleur Fired Gannon was fired on January 5, after three seasons with a 15–36 (.294) record (3–14 in 2025) and no playoff appearances as the Cardinals' head coach.[109]

LaFleur was hired on February 1. Previously he was the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams from 2023 to 2025. This is his first head coaching job at any level.[110]

Atlanta Falcons Raheem Morris Kevin Stefanski Morris was fired on January 4, after two seasons with a 16–18 (.471) record (8–9 in 2025) and no playoff appearances as a full time head coach.[111]

Stefanski was hired on January 17. Previously he was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2020 to 2025 with a 45–56 (.446) record and two playoff appearances.[112]

Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh Jesse Minter Harbaugh was fired on January 6, after 18 seasons with the Ravens. During his tenure, the team had a 180–113 (.614) record (8–9 in 2025), with the Super Bowl XLVII championship, six AFC North division titles in 12 overall playoff appearances, and a playoff record of 13–11 (.542).[113]

Minter was hired on January 22, after serving as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024 and 2025. He was the interim head coach for Michigan during their first game in 2023 when Jim Harbaugh was suspended for recruiting violations.[114]

Buffalo Bills Sean McDermott Joe Brady McDermott was fired on January 19, after nine seasons with a 98–50 (.662) record (12–5 in 2025) and eight playoff appearances as the Bills' head coach.[115]

Brady, the team's offensive coordinator from 2023 to 2025, was promoted to head coach on January 27. This is his first head coaching job at any level.[116]

Cleveland Browns Kevin Stefanski Todd Monken Stefanski was fired on January 5, after six seasons with the team. During his tenure, the Browns had a 45–56 (.446) record (5–12 in 2025), with two playoff appearances.[117]

Monken was hired on January 28. He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens from 2023 to 2025 and was the head coach at Southern Miss from 2013 to 2015 with a 13–25 (.342) record.[118]

Las Vegas Raiders Pete Carroll Klint Kubiak Carroll was fired on January 5, with a 3–14 (.176) record after being hired in 2025, with no playoff appearances.[119]

On February 8, after winning Super Bowl LX, Kubiak confirmed that he would be the head coach for the Raiders. He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks during the 2025 season. This is his first head coaching job at any level.[120]

Miami Dolphins Mike McDaniel Jeff Hafley McDaniel was fired on January 8, with a 35–33 (.515) record (7–10 in 2025) after being hired in 2022 and appearing in the playoffs twice in 2022 and 2023, with no playoff wins in four full seasons as coach.[121]

Hafley was hired on January 19. He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers from 2024 to 2025 and was the head coach at Boston College from 2020 to 2023 with a 22–26 (.458) record.[122]

New York Giants Brian Daboll Mike Kafka John Harbaugh Daboll was fired as head coach on November 10, 2025, with a 20–40–1 (.336) record (2–8 in 2025) after being hired in 2022 and appearing in the playoffs once in 2022.[123]

Kafka, the team's assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, took over as interim coach. This was his first head coaching position at any level. He finished the season with a 2–5 (.286) record.[124]

Harbaugh was hired on January 17. Previously he was the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens from 2008 to 2025 with a 180–113 (.614) record, 12 playoff appearances, and the Super Bowl XLVII championship.[125]

Tennessee Titans Brian Callahan Mike McCoy Robert Saleh Callahan was fired as head coach on October 13, 2025, with a 4–19 (.174) record (1–5 in 2025) after being hired in 2024.[126]

McCoy, the team's senior offensive assistant, took over as interim coach. This was his second NFL head coaching position, having previously been the head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2013 to 2016, with a record of 27–37 (.422) and one playoff appearance. He finished the season with a 2–9 (.182) record.[127]

Saleh was hired on January 22. He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers in 2025 and was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2021 to 2024, with a 20–36 (.357) record and no playoff appearances.[128]

Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin Mike McCarthy Resigned Tomlin resigned on January 13. During his 19-season tenure, the Steelers had a 193–114–2 (.628) record (10–7 in 2025), winning Super Bowl XLIII and eight AFC North titles in 13 overall playoff appearances, with an 8–12 (.400) playoff record.[129]

McCarthy was hired on January 24. Previously he was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 2006 to 2018 and the Dallas Cowboys from 2020 to 2024 with a combined record of 174–112–2 (.608), winning Super Bowl XLV, and making multiple playoff appearances.[130]

General managers

Off-season

Team Departing GM Interim replacement Incoming GM Reason for leaving Notes
Atlanta Falcons Terry Fontenot Ian Cunningham Fired Fontenot was fired on January 4, after five seasons with the team as a general manager with a 36–48 (.429) record and no play-off appearances.[111]

Cunningham was hired on January 29. Previously he was the assistant general manager of the Chicago Bears from 2022 to 2025.[131]

Miami Dolphins Chris Grier Champ Kelly Jon-Eric Sullivan Mutual agreement Grier and the Dolphins mutually agreed to part ways on October 31, 2025, after almost ten seasons as Dolphins' GM with a 77–80 (.490) record and three play-off appearances.

Kelly, the team's senior personnel executive, was named interim GM. Previously, he was the interim general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023.[132]

Sullivan was hired on January 9. He previously served for the Green Bay Packers from 2003 to 2025 in various executive roles and in the final four years as the vice president of player personnel.[133]

Minnesota Vikings Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Nolan Teasley Fired Adofo-Mensah was fired on January 30, 2026, after four seasons as Vikings' GM and two playoff appearances.[134]

Teasley was hired on June 1. He previously served in multiple roles within the Seattle Seahawks for the past 13 years, most recently having served as an assistant general manager since 2023.[135]

Stadiums

This is planned to be the first season in which the Buffalo Bills will play at the new Highmark Stadium. The team had played at its former venue, also called Highmark Stadium (originally known as Ralph Wilson Stadium) since 1973.[136]

This is scheduled to be the final season in which the Tennessee Titans will play their home games at their current Nissan Stadium. The new stadium, also to be called Nissan Stadium, is scheduled to be completed for the 2027 season.[137]

The Jacksonville Jaguars will play in EverBank Stadium with a reduced capacity due to commencing renovations. The upper deck will be closed, cutting the capacity to around 43,500.[138][139]

NRG Stadium, the home of the Houston Texans, will be renamed back to Reliant Stadium prior to the start of the season.[140]

Uniforms

Rivalries series

AFC South and NFC North teams are scheduled to unveil their "rivalries" uniforms in 2026. They will be worn at one home divisional game per season.[141]

Uniform changes

  • Atlanta unveiled new uniforms on April 2.[142]
  • Baltimore unveiled new uniforms on April 16.[143] The Ravens are expected to have a new primary look, but will have the fewest changes among the teams requesting changes to their uniforms. They are also looking at two new alternate uniforms.[144]
  • The Los Angeles Rams unveiled new primary uniforms on April 16 under the marketing slogan "Threaded with Greatness".[145] The redesigned jerseys use design cues from the team's existing Rivalries jersey, incorporating the latter's shoulder horns while omitting the Rams wordmark from the front and changing the home jersey's gradient numbers to solid yellow numbers. White pants were also reintroduced to the team's uniform. The primary and secondary logos were updated, with the primary "LA" logo changing from the original gradient sported since the opening of SoFi Stadium in 2020 to a solid yellow logo with blue outlines. The secondary ram head logo received slight refinements from the 2020 logo, with the head being tilted further forward and given yellow eyes. The team also teased two new alternate uniforms to be unveiled in the summer of 2026.
  • Tennessee unveiled new uniforms and redesigned logos on March 12.[146]
  • Washington unveiled new uniforms on April 15 templated after the white "Super Bowl Era" alternate uniforms introduced in the previous season, with a corresponding burgundy uniform being released. The uniforms are based on the set introduced by the franchise in 1979 and used in various forms until their rebrand as the "Commanders" in 2022. White and gold pants were also released. An alternate all-black uniform, nicknamed the "Hail Raiser", was also unveiled using the same template.[147]

Alternate helmets

  • Washington's alternate "Hail Raiser" uniform includes a black helmet featuring a new "Spear W" decal and burgundy-gold-burgundy striping pattern.

Patches

Media

National

Linear television

Under an agreement first announced on August 5, 2025, and approved by government regulators on January 31, 2026, ESPN acquired NFL Network, television distribution rights to NFL RedZone and the RedZone brand. In exchange, the league received a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN. The NFL's existing deal with ESPN remained unaffected.[149][150][151][152]

This will also be the fourth year of the existing 11-year U.S. media deals with CBS, Fox, and NBC, along with its Spanish counterparts Fox Deportes, and Telemundo Deportes.[153]

  • Sunday afternoon regional games will continue to be split between CBS and Fox, with the two networks carrying the AFC and NFC packages, respectively. When the initial schedule is created, CBS and Fox will be able to specify a limited amount of games involving teams from their respective conference that they want to air, but otherwise the league is free to schedule games regardless of conference.[154] Each network is scheduled to produce ten Sunday doubleheaders (with games at 1:00 and 4:25 p.m. ET), and eight single games (each media market airs either a 1:00 or 4:05 p.m. ET game). During most Sundays, one network will have the doubleheader and the other network will have the single game, on weeks 1 and 18, both networks will air a doubleheader.[84][155][156] On Thanksgiving, CBS and Fox will nationally air the 1:00 p.m. ET Detroit game and the 4:30 p.m. ET Dallas game, respectively, Fox will also air a primetime game on Christmas Day (using the option in its contract to air a game on the holiday for the first time).[153][157]
  • NBC will continue to air Sunday Night Football games, the NFL Kickoff Game, and the primetime Thanksgiving game.[153][157][158]
  • ESPN will continue to produce Monday Night Football games, and a Week 18 Saturday doubleheader. ABC will simulcast 10 MNF games and the Saturday doubleheader. There will no longer be MNF doubleheaders.[153][159][160][161]
  • NFL Network will continue to air a package of seven national games, including five Sunday Morning (9:30 a.m. ET) International Series games, and a Saturday doubleheader in Week 16.[162] Due to the acquisition of NFL Media by ESPN, four games from NFL Network's package were returned to the league and contractually replaced by four games that were previously part of ESPN's current contract (the three MNF split games, and a game previously exclusive to ESPN+). The NFL resold these four games to its television partners under one-year deals:[157][159][160]
    • CBS and Fox will air a Saturday doubleheader during Week 15 on December 19, 2026, with Fox airing a 4:00 p.m. ET game, and CBS airing an 8:20 p.m. ET primetime game.[157][163][162]
    • Fox acquired rights to the International Series game in Munich, which will air in a standalone Sunday morning (9:30 a.m. ET) window as part of a rare tripleheader.[157][163]
    • NBC will carry a Saturday afternoon game in Week 17 on January 2 (the NFL Holiday Special), forming a doubleheader with its Peacock-exclusive primetime game.[164][157]

Streaming

  • This will be the fifth year of a 12-year deal with Amazon Prime Video and Twitch to exclusively stream Thursday Night Football games, and the fourth season that they will also stream the game on the Friday after Thanksgiving under the title Black Friday Football.[165][166]
  • ESPN DTC will simulcast all ESPN-produced games (including any alternate telecasts) and have a live stream of NFL Network.[159]
  • Fox One will simulcast in market and national Fox games.[167][168]
  • Paramount+ will simulcast in market and national CBS games.[153]
  • Peacock will simulcast NBC's games.[153] This will also be the fourth season in a six-year deal that the platform will exclusively stream one regular season game, with the game being a week 17 Saturday game this season.[165]
  • Netflix signed a four-year extension to its original three-year deal that was previously set to expire after the 2026 season. In addition to a Christmas Day afternoon doubleheader this season like in previous seasons, the extended deal adds a Week 1 game (which, for this season, is the International Series game in Melbourne), a game the night before Thanksgiving, a Saturday game during Week 18, and at least one Christmas game per season from 2027 onward.[169][170][171]
  • This will be the fourth year of a seven-year deal with YouTube to stream NFL Sunday Ticket, the package showing out-of-market CBS and Fox's Sunday afternoon games, either bundled with YouTube TV or as a standalone subscription on YouTube's Primetime Channels service.[172]
  • The league will still own and operate NFL+,[159] which will continue to live stream in-market and national preseason, regular season and postseason games on mobile devices only, radio broadcasts for all games, most out-of-market preseason games and a live stream of NFL Network on its base tier, and replays of games along with a live stream of NFL RedZone on its premium tier.[173]

Postseason

During the Wild Card round, CBS and Fox will air an AFC and NFC Wild Card game, respectively. NBC will air the Sunday night game under the sixth year of its seven-year deal.[174][175][176] ESPN/ABC will broadcast a Wild Card game on a date to-be-determined, as its previous deal to air the Monday night Wild Card game expired after the previous postseason.[177] NBC will air a second Wild Card game this season as part of a rotation with Fox and CBS. This will also be the third postseason under a multi-year deal that Amazon Prime Video will exclusively stream a Wild Card playoff game.[178][179]

This will be the fourth season that all four broadcast television partners air one divisional playoff game per season (ESPN/ABC, Fox, CBS, and NBC).[180]

Super Bowl LXI will be broadcast by ABC and ESPN in English, and ESPN Deportes and Univision in Spanish.[181] It will mark the first time ABC will have aired the Super Bowl since 2005's Super Bowl XL, and the first time ever that ESPN will air a live Super Bowl in English.[182][183]

Radio

  • Westwood One has rights to air all games televised by the national partners (including streaming).[184]
  • ESPN Radio and Sports USA Radio Network has rights to air select Sunday afternoon games on its radio networks.[185][186]
  • This is the fifth and final season of the league's five-year deal with SiriusXM to simulcast all 32 teams' local regular season and postseason broadcasts, including a wraparound show called SiriusXM NFL Sunday Drive.[187]

Personnel changes

International

  • ESPN will air its slate of games in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, and the Netherlands; and through Disney+ in select markets in Asia and Europe.[180]
  • In the UK and Ireland:
    • This will the second year of a three-year deal that Sky Sports will broadcast select games on either their dedicated Sky Sports NFL Channel or through their Sky Sports+ channels.[191]
    • This will the second year of a multi-year deal that the free-to-air Channel 5 will broadcast games through their main channel as well as 5Action.[192]
  • This will be the fourth year of a ten-year deal that DAZN will distribute NFL Game Pass International.[193]
  • This will be the fifth year of a multi-year deal with Bell Media to continue to distribute all NFL games in Canada (including RedZone) to TSN, CTV channels in English and on RDS in French.[194]

Notes

  1. ^ September 10 in U.S. time zones

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