Congratulations on making it through the NFL offseason! As the league embarks on a new campaign on Wednesday it is time to make sure everyone is up to speed on all the changes that unfolded over the last seven months.

In some ways, it is hard to believe it has been that long since the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots and hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The NFL is such a year-round operation that it dominated headlines even in its quietest months.

There are a few new rules to learn before the Seahawks and Patriots return to the field in the first game of the 2026 season. There are also some schedule quirks unique to the upcoming campaign that everyone needs to be familiar with ahead of time. This year also brings a large batch of fresh uniforms and the opening of the doors to a new stadium.

Here are all of the changes to know ahead of the 2026 season.

Rule changes

Of the five playing rules changes the NFL approved at the Annual League Meeting in March, only four will actually apply to the 2026 season. The fifth would have permitted the league office to correct clear officiating mistakes in the event of an NFL Referees Association work stoppage, but a new collective bargaining agreement prevented the need for replacement officials in the first place. The following rule changes will, however, be active.

  1. The kicking team may declare an onside kick at any time. Previously, teams could only attempt onside kicks if they were losing. This change could spark a modest rebound in success rate, even though teams may still not attempt a surprise onside kick or stack one side of the field.
  2. Touchbacks place the ball on the receiving team's 20-yard line if the kickoff starts at the 50. This closes a loophole that incentivized teams to kick the ball out of bounds when they kicked off from midfield. The resulting penalty gave the receiving team the ball on the 25 rather than the 35, where it is placed on touchbacks.
  3. The receiving team must have a minimum of five players in the setup zone with their front foot on the setup line. The old rule required six players to have their foot on the line.

Additionally, during the final week of the preseason, the NFL and NFL Players Association voted to implement a new suspension rule for certain penalties. Any player who commits three offenses of any of the following penalties will receive a one-game suspension.

  • Hip drop tackle
  • Horse collar tackle
  • Launching
  • Hit on a defenseless player
  • Blindside block

All players begin the 2026 season with a clean slate, but violations will carry forward into subsequent seasons. If a player commits just one violation, they will receive 50% of their fine back at the end of the campaign.

NFL-record nine international games

Half of the regular season's 18 weeks will feature an international game as the NFL expands its footprint outside the United States. For the first time, there will be nine games on foreign soil, the first of which comes right out of the gate as the second contest of the season. This year marks the inaugural Australia game, the third game in Brazil (and first in Rio de Janeiro) and the debut France game.

Here is the full international schedule:

Teams had better get used to this kind of travel, because the international slate is only going to get larger. The record of nine games abroad in one season will only stand for one year since the NFL is set to stage 10 such contests in 2027.

Season starts on a Wednesday

Until 2026, only once in modern NFL history has the season started on a Wednesday. The NFL moved its standard Thursday opener up one day in 2012 to avoid a television ratings hit since former President Barack Obama was scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention on what would have otherwise been the first game day of the year.

It took 14 years for the league to schedule a second Week 1 Wednesday game. And this one is a doozy. It is a rematch of the 2026 Super Bowl which sends the New England Patriots all the way to the Pacific Northwest for a date with the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks.

Why the midweek kickoff? It all comes back to the Australia game. The league scheduled the Rams vs. 49ers showdown for Thursday, seemingly in an effort to give both teams time to adjust back to the Pacific Time Zone upon their return from a grueling trip Down Under. But the NFL also wanted to preserve its tradition of the defending Super Bowl champion being the first team to take the field. Thus, the Seahawks hit the turf one day prior to the international game.

Broadcast changes

Every game this year will be available to stream. Viewers will need just about every major streaming service to do so, though. That includes Netflix, which secured three additional games to its inventory as part of a renewed media rights contract it signed in May. The Christmas Day game now becomes a doubleheader, and Netflix will also carry the league's first Thanksgiving Eve game.

These games will be available only on Netflix as part of the streamer's expanded package:

  • Sept. 11: 49ers at Rams (Australia)
  • Nov. 25: Packers at Rams
  • Dec. 25: Packers at Bears
  • Dec. 25: Bills at Broncos
  • Jan. 9: TBD

More major broadcast changes come as part of ESPN's acquisition of NFL Network. The biggest development in this regard is the discontinuation of "Monday Night Football" doubleheaders. ESPN returned that inventory to the NFL, which then redistributed games to other partners.

In turn, there are four games on CBS, Fox and NBC that fall in non-traditional windows:

  • Nov. 15: Patriots at Lions (Germany), 9:30 a.m. ET on Fox
  • Dec. 19: Seahawks at Eagles, 5 p.m. ET on Fox
  • Dec. 19: Bears at Bills, 8:20 p.m. ET on CBS
  • Jan. 2: TBD, 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC

Familiar faces in new places

Some of football's best players will suit up for new teams in 2026, including reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, whose trade to the Rams shocked the NFL and solidified Los Angeles as the Super Bowl front-runner. He is one of the numerous familiar faces in new places this year.

Kirk Cousins (Raiders), Kyler Murray (Vikings), Malik Willis (Dolphins), Geno Smith (Jets) and Tua Tagovailoa (Falcons) are the quarterbacks who will start for new teams.

A bevy of blockbuster trades sent stars to fresh destinations. In addition to the Garrett deal, the Rams also traded for cornerback Trent McDuffie. The Bengals acquired defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. A quartet of standout receivers have new homes with A.J. Brown heading to the Patriots, DJ Moore being scooped up by the Bills, Jaylen Waddle landing with the Broncos and Michael Pittman finding himself on the Steelers.

In free agency, the Bengals loaded up on defense with Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen and Bryan Cook bolstering a unit that needs to improve significantly in 2026. Star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson signed with the Ravens after they nixed their trade for Maxx Crosby. And reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III departed Seattle to become the leader of the Chiefs' run game.

That is in addition to the 10 head coaching changes, which tied the league record for a single offseason:

  • Mike LaFleur, Cardinals
  • Kevin Stefanski, Falcons
  • Jesse Minter, Ravens
  • Joe Brady, Bills
  • Todd Monken, Browns
  • Klint Kubiak, Raiders
  • Jeff Hafley, Dolphins
  • John Harbaugh, Giants
  • Mike McCarthy, Steelers
  • Robert Saleh, Titans

New stadium and other venue changes

The new Highmark Stadium opens for regular-season business on Thursday, Sept. 17 when the Bills play host to the Lions. That Week 2 contest opens a new era after Buffalo moved from its old home, where it played from 1973-2025.

EverBank Stadium is in the midst of renovations, which will limit the attendance at Jaguars home games. The reduced capacity of about 43,500 fans will be the league's smallest. The Jaguars will then play their home games in Orlando in 2027 as their Jacksonville venue undergoes the final stages of construction.

This is also the final year for the Titans in Nissan Stadium, which will be replaced by a new Nissan Stadium in 2027.

New uniforms

An expansion of the "Rivalries" uniform series gives new threads to every team in the AFC South and NFC North this year. Half of the league now owns a set of these alternate ensembles.

Additional alternates will make their debuts in Buffalo and Tampa Bay: The Bills' new "Nickel City" outfit and the return of the all-pewter Buccaneers uniform. The Ravens, Bills, Jets and Commanders also have new alternate helmets.

The biggest changes come for the following five teams, who unveiled new sets of primary uniforms.

No more Pro Bowl

In 2026, the NFL bids farewell to the Pro Bowl. The week between the conference championship games and Super Bowl will no longer feature any all-star festivities as the league announced in August that the "Pro Bowl Games" will not return for another installment. Although the game (or most recently, the skills competitions) is a thing of the past, 88 players will still receive Pro Bowl honors at the end of each season. Also, since there is no physical game, there will no longer be any alternates selected to the Pro Bowl roster, either.

Add CBS Sports on Google