Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the face of the NFL, but the league has a significant problem on its hands as it prepares to release its schedule for the 2026 season.
While there is no firm or consistent release date, the NFL schedule typically comes out in the middle of May, which means we’re just a few days away from its potential release.
“Most fans know full well that the schedule comes out in mid-May now,” NFL Vice President of Broadcast Planning Mike North said during a recent interview. “That’s what we’ve done the last five or six years. That’s sort of our target. Is there any magic to May 12, 13, 14? No. Is there any real downside to May 19, 20, or 21? No. I don’t think it’s coming out in June, but that second week in May has been our target the last few years, but I don’t know that it’s impossible to think about that third week in May.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs are perhaps the best ratings draw of any team in the league consistently, which means an early-season showdown with another contender or high-profile team would typically be appointment television, drawing massive ratings. However, there’s one problem: Mahomes might not be ready to play.
Back in December of 2025, Mahoems suffered a torn ACL. While he has been rehabbing and recovering since then, there are some questions about whether or not he will be ready to return to the team by the start of the season, and that’s obviously a problem for the NFL.
Mahomes is still not ready to begin practicing, leading the Chiefs to sign veteran starting quarterback Justin Fields, who has been taking all of the first-team reps in practice with Mahomes still injured. If Mahomes can’t go by the start of the season, Fields would get the start.
While Fields is an experienced quarterback and the Chiefs are a good team, even aside from Mahomes, North openly admits that the league would not want to schedule an early-season primetime game if there’s a chance Mahomes might not play.
“He’s one of the biggest stars in the league, and I don’t. think any of us would feel great if we had him in prime time early in the season and he missed the first four weeks or whatever,” North said. “That being said, that’s a good football team, that’s a good coach over there, and they went and signed a veteran starting quarterback in this league.”
North admits that they would like to ensure that Mahomes will play to prioritize viewership for a game like that.
“Would the league want to use the big Chiefs-Bills game in Week 1? That’s a fair question,” North said. “I’m not sure it does 30 or 35 million viewers in Week 1 without Patrick Mahomes. So certainly some thought to maximizing that quarterback and this rivalry.”
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what the league does as one of its biggest stars might not be able to play by the start of the season.
About Dave Kelsey
Bets on sports stuff.