Seattle Seahawks Will Kick Off 2026 NFL Season on Wednesday Sept. 9

We now have an official date. Be sure to get home with plenty of snacks for… Wednesday? Yes, the NFL season is kicking off on Hump Day this year. The Seattle Seahawks will kick off the 2026 NFL season on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 8:20 pm ET on NBC and Peacock. So far, Seattle’s opponent is unknown; but will be eventually revealed later on this spring.

If a Wednesday kickoff feels a little bit odd, it’s because it hasn’t happened in awhile. In fact, it has been over a decade. Closer to a decade and a half in reality. Thus, making this kickoff scheduling a very rare occurrence. However, football reporter, Ari Meirov discussed this smidge of NFL kickoff history stating,

“The last time the NFL started a season on a Wednesday was in 2012, when the defending Super Bowl champion Giants hosted the Cowboys.

That game was moved up because the next night was the Democratic National Convention, where Barack Obama was scheduled to speak.”

Nonetheless flash forward 14 years, and once again Wednesday will get to be kickoff day. NFL insider, Adam Schefter posted via X about the start of the upcoming season. He writes, “The 2026 NFL regular season will kick off Wednesday Sept. 9 at 8:20 p.m. ET in Seattle with the Super Bowl LX champion Seahawks. The San Francisco 49ers will face the Los Angeles Rams in the first-ever NFL regular season game in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday, Sept. 10 at approximately 8:35 p.m. ET at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.”

Seattle Seahawks Will Kick Off 2026 NFL Season on Wednesday Sept. 9

So then, why not the usual Thursday night opener? What’s going on or what’s happening to cause the National Football League to schedule such a switch up in days? Well, the league provided the following answer:

“The Super Bowl champion Seahawks will open the season on the Wednesday of Week 1 instead of hosting the usual Thursday night opener.

The change is being made because the Rams and 49ers will open their season in Melbourne, Australia in a game that will be broadcast on Thursday night in the United States.”

Simple as that. It’s to allow more fans the opportunity to catch the international game as well. Making Melbourne’s matchup a real highlight of opening week. The game in Melbourne will be the first regular-season NFL game played in Australia. The teams will play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The game is one of an NFL-record nine international games scheduled for the 2026 season. The 49ers will also be the home team for a game at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City this coming season.

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