Custom NFL Kickoff Football to Travel Across Nine States with Help from Stars Across NBC, Bravo and Peacock and Special Guests Including Tracy Morgan, Craig Melvin, Alan Cumming, Porsha Williams, Rob Rausch, and Minions
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 1, 2026 – With the NFL season kicking off in eight days, stars from across NBC, Bravo, and Peacock are bringing fans along for the ride with “NBC’s Race to Wednesday,” a one-of-a-kind cross-country campaign celebrating the countdown to the 2026 NFL Kickoff Game, which uniquely falls on a Wednesday (Sept. 9, on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo) for only the second time in NBC Sports’ 21 NFL Kickoff Game presentations.
Beginning today, Sept. 1, a custom NFL Kickoff football will embark on a weeklong journey across America following a call from Football Night in America’s Maria Taylor informing NBC, Bravo, and Peacock personnel, including Sunday Night Football’s Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth, that the NFL Kickoff Game has moved to Wednesday.
Links to the spot: on Twitter/X (here); Instagram (here); Facebook (here); TikTok (here)
Throughout the road trip, the football will make its way from Boston to Seattle, traveling through iconic NFL cities and fan communities with the help of NBCUniversal and Bravo talent, content creators, mascots and surprise guests, appearing in original social content, surprise handoffs and memorable moments native to each stop.
“At NBCUniversal, we take major events and turn them into cultural moments,” said Jenny Storms, Chief Marketing Officer, NBCUniversal Television & Streaming. “With the NFL season kicking off on a Wednesday, a rare occurrence that immediately captures attention, we wanted to turn the countdown itself into an event. ‘NBC’s Race to Wednesday’ unites our talent, brands and fan communities across the country to build anticipation for one of the most exciting days on the sports calendar.”
NBC Sports will broadcast the NFL’s opening game for the 21st consecutive season next Wednesday, Sept. 9, when Sam Darnold and the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks host Drake Maye and the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl LX rematch at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with a special edition of Football Night in America, followed by kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo.
“NBC’s RACE TO WEDNESDAY” LAUNCH CALL PARTICIPANTS
- Maria Taylor (Football Night in America host)
- Mike Tirico (Sunday Night Football play-by-play)
- Cris Collinsworth (Sunday Night Football analyst)
- Craig Melvin (TODAY co-host)
- Tracy Morgan (NBC’s The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins)
- Teresa Giudice (Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey)
- Lisa Barlow (Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City)
- Gizelle Bryant (Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Potomac)
- Alan Cumming (Host of Peacock’s and NBC’s The Traitors)
- David Alan Grier (NBC’s St. Denis Medical)
- Rob Rausch (Peacock’s Love Island and The Traitors)
- Corbin Mims (Peacock’s Love Island)
- Pat Patriot (New England Patriots’ mascot)
- Blitz (Seattle Seahawks’ mascot)
- Marley the Camel
- Minions
“NBC’s RACE TO WEDNESDAY” JOURNEY PARTICIPANTS
- “Boston” Rob Mariano
- Misty Copeland
- Porsha Williams
- Rodolfo Rohas and Brandon Marshall
- Haley and Hanna Cavinder
- The casts of the One Chicago shows
- Anthony Hamilton Jr. and Tatyana Joseph
- CiscoKid & Kenna
- Kayce Kirihara
Fans can follow the football’s progress each day in addition to behind-the-scenes content and clues revealing the football’s next destination as it races toward Seattle for Kickoff across @SNFonNBC, @NBCSports, and participating NBCUniversal social channels throughout the week.
Tirico, Collinsworth, and the newest member of the Football Night in America team, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, and “Marley” the camel star in another NBC Sports’ NFL Kickoff spot on Twitter/X (here) and Instagram (here). The spot, which premiered on TODAY and are running across NBC shows and platforms, looks ahead to the New England Patriots-Seattle Super Bowl rematch on “hump day.”
Coverage of next Wednesday’s NFL Kickoff Game begins with a special edition of Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The pregame show, will be on-site from Lumen Field in Seattle and features host Maria Taylor, joined by Super Bowl‑winning former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin, along with former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, three-time Super Bowl champion Devin McCourty, and NFL insider Mike Florio.
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Melissa Stark and Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporters) will call Patriots-Seahawks – seven months after broadcasting the Super Bowl matchup. Three-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay is the rules analyst for all NFL games on NBC and Peacock.
NBC Sports’ Kickoff Weekend coverage continues on Sunday, Sept. 13 with the season-debut of Sunday Night Football, as the Dallas Cowboys visit the New York Giants (coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock).
--NBC SPORTS--
