Every date left in the 2026 season and the 2027 offseason, from the NFL's own calendar: the trade deadline, the holiday games, Week 18, the playoffs, Super Bowl LXI, the combine, free agency, the draft and the Hall of Fame Game, plus every bye week.
By C. B. Zakarian · Published October 29, 2026
The dates below run from November 8, 2026 to August 7, 2027. The headline dates: the trade deadline is Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 4:00 p.m. ET; Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26; Christmas is a Friday this year; Week 18 is January 9-10, 2027; Super Bowl LXI is Sunday, February 14, 2027; the new league year opens Thursday, March 11; the draft runs April 29 to May 1; and the Hall of Fame Game is Thursday, August 5, 2027.
Related: trade deadline 2026 · Thanksgiving games · Christmas games · 2026 standings
Dates checked against the NFL's 2026-27 important-dates list and NFL Football Operations, read October 29, 2026.
Every date here comes from the league: the NFL's own list of important dates for 2026-27 (the same dates are on NFL Football Operations' calendar), its flexible-scheduling rules, and its Pro Bowl announcement. The game slates for the holidays and the bye weeks come from the 2026 schedule. The two Canton dates come from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which says all its events and dates are subject to change. A row that says TBD has no official date yet; we fill it in when the league or the Hall publishes one, and we do not guess.
Times are Eastern. A kickoff time in the regular-season table is the schedule as it stood on October 29, 2026; Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games inside the flex windows can still move (see the flex rules below). Earlier 2026 dates have passed: kickoff weekend (September 9-10 and 13-14, which opened with the Patriots at the Seahawks on Wednesday, September 9) and the international games in Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, London (three) and Paris.
| Date | Day | Time (ET) | Event | Where | Source | Our page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 8, 2026 | Sun | 9:30 a.m. | International game: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons | Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain | NFL · Football Ops | International games 2026 |
| Nov 10, 2026 | Tue | 4:00 p.m. | Trade deadline: all trading ends for 2026 | — | NFL · Football Ops | Trade deadline 2026 |
| Nov 11, 2026 | Wed | — | Players with four or more pension-credited seasons become subject to waivers for the rest of the season | — | NFL · Football Ops | Trade deadline 2026 |
| Nov 15, 2026 | Sun | 9:30 a.m. | International game: New England Patriots vs. Detroit Lions | FC Bayern Munich Arena, Munich, Germany | NFL · Football Ops | International games 2026 |
| Nov 22, 2026 | Sun | 8:20 p.m. | International game: Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers (Sunday Night Football) | Estadio Banorte, Mexico City, Mexico | NFL · Football Ops | International games 2026 |
| Nov 25, 2026 | Wed | 8:00 p.m. | Thanksgiving Eve: Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams | SoFi Stadium | Schedule | Thanksgiving games 2026 |
| Nov 26, 2026 | Thu | 1:00 p.m. | Thanksgiving: Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions | Ford Field | Schedule | Thanksgiving games 2026 |
| Nov 26, 2026 | Thu | 4:30 p.m. | Thanksgiving: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys | AT&T Stadium | Schedule | Thanksgiving games 2026 |
| Nov 26, 2026 | Thu | 8:20 p.m. | Thanksgiving: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills | Highmark Stadium | Schedule | Thanksgiving games 2026 |
| Nov 27, 2026 | Fri | 3:00 p.m. | Black Friday: Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh Steelers | Acrisure Stadium | Schedule | Thanksgiving games 2026 |
| Dec 24, 2026 | Thu | 8:15 p.m. | Christmas Eve: Houston Texans at Philadelphia Eagles | Lincoln Financial Field | Schedule | Christmas games 2026 |
| Dec 25, 2026 | Fri | 1:00 p.m. | Christmas: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears | Soldier Field | Schedule | Christmas games 2026 |
| Dec 25, 2026 | Fri | 4:30 p.m. | Christmas: Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos | Empower Field at Mile High | Schedule | Christmas games 2026 |
| Dec 25, 2026 | Fri | 8:15 p.m. | Christmas: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks | Lumen Field | Schedule | Christmas games 2026 |
| Jan 9–10, 2027 | Sat–Sun | TBD | Week 18, the last regular-season weekend. All 16 games are division games; which of them move to Saturday, and every kickoff time, are announced after Week 17 | — | NFL · Football Ops · Flex rules | Playoff picker |
The official list gives the playoff weekends but not the sites or kickoff times; those wait for the bracket. The playoff picker shows how the seeds would fall for any set of results still to come.
| Date | Day | Time (ET) | Event | Where | Source | Our page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 11, 2027 | Mon | — | The Monday after the regular season: clubs may begin signing free agents for the 2027 season | — | NFL | — |
| Jan 16–18, 2027 | Sat–Mon | TBD | Wild Card Weekend | TBD | NFL · Football Ops | 2026 playoff odds |
| Jan 23–24, 2027 | Sat–Sun | TBD | Divisional Playoffs | TBD | NFL · Football Ops | Playoff football by the numbers |
| Jan 31, 2027 | Sun | TBD | AFC and NFC Championship Games | TBD | NFL · Football Ops | Playoff football by the numbers |
| Feb 14, 2027 | Sun | TBD | Super Bowl LXI | SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California | NFL · Football Ops | Does the best record win it? |
| Late December 2026 | TBD | TBD | Pro Bowl roster revealed (the NFL says late December; no exact day yet) | — | NFL | — |
| February 2027 | TBD | TBD | Pro Bowl celebration for the 2027 class during the traditional Pro Bowl weekend in Los Angeles. There is no AFC-NFC game any more | Los Angeles | NFL | — |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | NFL Honors (the season awards) | — | — | — |
| Date | Day | Time (ET) | Event | Where | Source | Our page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17–Mar 3, 2027 | Wed–Wed | until 4:00 p.m. Mar 3 | Franchise and transition tag window | — | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| Mar 1–8, 2027 | Mon–Mon | — | NFL Scouting Combine | Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| Mar 9–11, 2027 | Tue–Thu | noon Mar 9 to 3:59:59 p.m. Mar 11 | Negotiating window with agents of players about to become unrestricted free agents (often called legal tampering); no contract can be signed until 4:00 p.m. Mar 11 | — | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| Mar 11, 2027 | Thu | 4:00 p.m. | New league year: free agency and trading open for 2027 | — | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| Mar 21–24, 2027 | Sun–Wed | — | Annual League Meeting | Phoenix, Arizona | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| Apr 5, 2027 | Mon | — | Offseason workout programs may begin for clubs with a new head coach | — | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| Apr 19, 2027 | Mon | — | Offseason workout programs may begin for clubs with a returning head coach | — | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| Apr 23, 2027 | Fri | — | Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets | — | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| Apr 28, 2027 | Wed | — | Deadline for a prior club to exercise its right of first refusal on a restricted free agent who signed an offer sheet | — | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| Apr 29–May 1, 2027 | Thu–Sat | TBD | NFL Draft | Washington, D.C. | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| May 17, 2027 | Mon | — | Rookie football development programs begin | — | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| May 25–26, 2027 | Tue–Wed | — | Spring League Meeting | Las Colinas, Texas | NFL · Football Ops | — |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | 2027 regular-season schedule release | — | — | — |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | OTAs and mandatory minicamps (each club sets its own dates inside the offseason program) | — | — | — |
| Date | Day | Time (ET) | Event | Where | Source | Our page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | TBD | TBD | Training camps open | — | — | — |
| Aug 5, 2027 | Thu | 8:00 p.m. | Hall of Fame Game (teams to be announced), which opens the NFL's 108th season | Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton | Hall of Fame | — |
| Aug 7, 2027 | Sat | noon | Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2027 enshrinement | Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton | Hall of Fame | — |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | Hall of Fame Class of 2027 announced | — | — | — |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | 2027 preseason weekends and the 53-man roster cutdown | — | — | — |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | 2027 regular-season kickoff (no league source gives a date yet) | — | — | — |
In 2026 every club has one bye, all of them between weeks 5 and 14; week 12, Thanksgiving week, has none. The early-bye piece asks whether an early week off wears a team down, and the schedule-quirks ledger maps the rest edges around each bye.
| Week | Dates | Teams off | On bye |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Oct 8–12, 2026 | 2 | Chiefs, Panthers |
| 6 | Oct 15–19, 2026 | 4 | Bengals, Dolphins, Lions, Vikings |
| 7 | Oct 22–26, 2026 | 4 | Bills, Chargers, Commanders, Jaguars |
| 8 | Oct 29–Nov 2, 2026 | 4 | 49ers, Giants, Saints, Texans |
| 9 | Nov 5–9, 2026 | 2 | Steelers, Titans |
| 10 | Nov 12–16, 2026 | 4 | Bears, Broncos, Buccaneers, Eagles |
| 11 | Nov 19–23, 2026 | 6 | Browns, Falcons, Packers, Patriots, Rams, Seahawks |
| 12 | Nov 25–30, 2026 | 0 | None (no team has a bye) |
| 13 | Dec 3–7, 2026 | 4 | Colts, Jets, Raiders, Ravens |
| 14 | Dec 10–14, 2026 | 2 | Cardinals, Cowboys |
Sunday Night Football can be flexed up to twice in weeks 5-10 and in any week from 11 to 17; Monday Night Football in any week from 12 to 17; Thursday Night Football up to twice in weeks 13-17. The NFL announces a Sunday-night change in weeks 5-13 and a Monday-night change at least 12 days ahead, a Sunday-night change in weeks 14-17 generally 6 days ahead, and a Thursday change generally 21 days ahead; Week 18's Saturday and Sunday-night games are set after Week 17 ends.
The script make_key_dates.py writes this page and checks it: every date, time and place is matched word for word against the saved copy of its source, every weekday is computed from the date rather than typed, every holiday game, international game and bye is read from the schedule file (every club has exactly one bye), and every row still ahead of October 29, 2026 is in date order. The "next date" line at the top is worked out in your browser from the same list, so it moves on by itself as dates pass.
Sources: the NFL's 2026-27 important dates, NFL Football Operations' important dates, the NFL's flexible scheduling procedures and its Pro Bowl announcement, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2027 Enshrinement Week schedule, all read October 29, 2026; the nflverse 2026 schedule, pulled the same day before week 8 began.
Kept in this browser only.
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