The NFL still has not announced a date for its full 272-game regular-season schedule, but league executive Mike North said it could come out during the week of May 18. North, speaking on the It’s Always Game Day in Buffalo podcast, said the second week in May has been the league’s target in recent years and added that he does not expect the schedule to wait until June.
For now, only two games are locked in: the 49ers will face the Rams in Australia on Thursday, Sept. 10, and the Ravens will play the Cowboys in Brazil on Sunday, Sept. 27. Everything else remains in flux, and North said the timing may hinge in part on a separate five-game package that is being carved out and sold on its own.
North said YouTube is the favorite for that package, with Netflix and Fox also in consideration. He said the league wants to know where those five games will land before it finalizes the rest of the calendar, because the locations could affect how the entire schedule is built.
He also said the draft could still change the math. A surprise trade involving a quarterback or another major name could force the league to take extra days to adjust and react, and North said developments during the draft could influence when the schedule is ready. Aaron Rodgers could also matter if he returns for another season, because North said that would make the Steelers a more attractive prime-time option.
The release window has become familiar territory for the league. North said fans know the schedule usually arrives in mid-May, and he pointed to May 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21 as dates that would not create much downside. He said the commissioner's approval is the final step before anything goes public, and joked that if the plan is not ready when it reaches the boss, the staff will go back downstairs and keep working until it is.
That leaves the week of May 18 as the most likely stretch to watch, with the second week in May still the league’s target and the third week not ruled out. The only certainty is that the calendar is not done yet, and every delay appears tied to the same thing: the league wants the schedule, the TV deals and the draft fallout to line up before it sends the season out to the world.
