SAN FRANCISCO — The NFL announced Thursday that the San Francisco 49ers would be the opponent to face the Los Angeles Rams in the league’s first regular-season game in Australia. The Rams were announced as part of the visit around this time last year.
Which day of the week the NFC West rivals will play in Melbourne remains uncertain.
NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder said the game will likely be played Wednesday or Thursday night of opening week. Playing early in Week 1 will give the 49ers and Rams extra days on the front end to compensate for the trip’s 16-hour flight and Australia’s 19-hour time difference from the U.S. Pacific time zone.
While the last two years featured Friday night international NFL games, that’s not possible this year because the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 precludes the league from playing after 6 p.m. ET from the second Friday in September through mid-December to avoid competing with high school and college football. Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season includes the second Friday of September after falling a week earlier in ’24 and ’25.
Which leaves the middle of the week for the 49ers and Rams. And more questions to answer…
The NFL will likely also have a traditional domestic opening game, which generally features the reigning Super Bowl champions raising their title banner on NBC on Thursday night. It’s unclear if that game would be played Wednesday, Sept. 9, with the Australia game a day later, or whether the NFL would start its season on foreign soil for the first time. For the game to air live in U.S. primetime, it would need to take place late morning or midday the following day in Australia.
The scheduling decision could partly be tied into the other choice that must be made: Who will air the Australia game? Peacock carried Packers vs. Eagles in Brazil in 2024, with YouTube airing Chiefs vs. Chargers, also in Brazil, for its first exclusive game last season.
Schroeder said the NFL began evaluating the market for the Australia game’s broadcast rights late last year. It is currently talking to partners about the contest as a standalone opportunity, though the league also now has four additional games to dole out following the close of its multipart transaction with ESPN.
There will be nine total international NFL games in 2029, including a return to Mexico City in December and the first regular-season game in France, set to feature the New Orleans Saints. The Cowboys, meanwhile, are headed to Rio de Janeiro, for a game expected to air in a Sunday afternoon slot.
Filling out the annual NFL schedule has always been a complicated puzzle. This year’s schedule could be the trickiest yet.
