NFL

Under the current format, teams are not permitted to trade picks that are more than three years out from the current season — meaning any pick trading that may take place in 2026 couldn’t extend beyond the 2028 season. The push to expand this limit to five years would give teams more to offer in trades, but could also further set back teams who use those picks to acquire players in what prove to be bad trades down the line. We’ll see how much support this expansion gets in the coming months, but with the discussion set to be on the table, it wouldn’t be surprising if a change was made sooner or later.

In an interview with Westwood One, Goodell discussed the NFL’s expansion into international markets, with games scheduled to take place in Mexico, France, Brazil, Spain and Australia next season. Goodell was, of course, noncommittal, but took the time to note that there are currently “cities out there that could support an NFL team.” We’d be surprised if this happens any time soon, but it’s clear that the NFL is looking for ways to keep growing the pie and the 2030s could give us an eternal “morning slate” at some point.

That brings the count to nine international games on the schedule for the 2026 regular season. Goodell added that his vision is to eventually get up to 16 international games per season as the league continues to expand to a more global market. The deal reportedly includes games in Mexico City for the next three seasons.

The Saints will be the “home” team against an opponent to be named later, and the game will be played in Paris at the Stade de France stadium. The announcement of the 2026 France game brings the league’s international game totals to eight for the upcoming season, with three of those games set to be played in London/U.K.

The NFL played its first Madrid game during the 2025 regular season and will now return to Madrid on a multi-year deal. The games will be played at Bernabéu Stadium, the home stadium for Real Madrid C.F. The league now has seven international games scheduled for the 2026 regular season.

The exact range is said to be $301.2 million to $305.7 million per club. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero notes that this is nearly $100 million more than the $208.2 million salary cap in 2022. The exact number will be finalized before free agency begins on March 11th.

This comes from the Washington Post’s Mark Maske, who notes that the concussion rate on kickoffs was higher than on plays at the line of scrimmage. NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Miller said the league feels “good about the progress, but there’s more work to do” to improve the kickoff moving forward. This will be something to watch for after the season winds down and the league begins to more closely review rule changes for the 2026 season.

This will be the first of three regular-season games the league will play in Rio de Janeiro over the next five years. Next year will mark the third-straight season the league has played in Brazil, after the Chargers and Chiefs faced off in São Paul, Brazil, to kick off this season, and the Packers and Eagles met in Week 1 of 2024. Next season’s game will mark the first time an NFL regular-season game has been played in Rio at Maracanã Stadium. The league has not announced which two teams will play in Brazil next season.

Sources tell The Athletic that “ESPN is expected to have access to RedZone, NFL Network, seven more regular-season games, the NFL’s fantasy football business, as well as the potential to integrate special features (including betting) and potentially more assets.” Programs will be available via “ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer service that will formally launch in the next few weeks,” which will cost $29.99 per month. Pricing for NFL Media programs is unknown, as is the deal’s duration. Regulatory approval is expected to take nine months to one year.

An investigation revealed that players, team employees and coaches from “roughly half of the NFL’s 32 teams” violated the CBA by selling tickets to a “small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller.” A memo from the league said, “players and employees who worked directly with the bundlers or ‘otherwise had a greater role ... will face increased penalties.’” Per the report, “players who violated the rule will be fined 1½ times the face ticket value and lose their allotted tickets to the next two Super Bowls.” Players who decline to pay the fine could be suspended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.