Seahawks Dealt Strange Date For 2026 Season-Opener

The date for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks' 2026 season opener has been set. And it's a weird one.

Seattle will open the season on Wednesday, Sept. 2, instead of on Thursday, per The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint. The NFL's first-ever game in Melbourne, Australia, between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will instead be played that Thursday, Sept. 3.

The strange scheduling is to uphold the NFL tradition that the previous year's Super Bowl champion will always play the very first game of the new season, and at home.

Since the NFL couldn't do a Friday game on opening week, per Flint, that moved the Seahawks' season opener all the way up to Wednesday to make space for the Melbourne game.

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