NFL VP on Chiefs’ schedule: Possible international contest, lots of primetime games
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NFL VP said the Chiefs could be on national TV a lot across primetime and 4:25 games.
- The league is pondering timing of primetime Chiefs games based on Mahomes' return date.
- The NFL said Chiefs are probably a candidate to play an international game.
Chiefs CEO and chairman Clark Hunt has previously said he expects the league will keep the team out of the NFL Kickoff Game to start the 2026 season.
As the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seahawks will play that Wednesday night game. The Chiefs would have been a candidate for the game because Seattle is on their schedule.
Even if they don’t play in that game, the Chiefs likely will get plenty of opportunities to play under the lights this season — and perhaps travel abroad for a second straight year.
Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, joined the “It’s Always Gameday In Buffalo” podcast last month and was asked about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is coming back from major knee surgery.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said last week that Mahomes is throwing the ball and “doing a lot of stuff,” but will he be ready for the season opener? That’s an unknown question, and one the NFL is pondering as it puts together the 2026 schedule, which is expected to be released this month.
“He’s one of the biggest stars in the league, and I don’t think any of us would feel great if we had them in primetime early in the season and he, say, 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 (Justin Fields) in this league.
“If Patrick Mahomes isn’t there Week 1, the Chiefs are still pretty darn interesting in Week 1. Would the league want to use the big Chiefs-Bills game in Week 1? That’s a fair question. I think we’d all hope everybody’s healthy. There’s significant playoff implications for that matchup. Historically, you’ve seen how we’ve utilized that matchup. I think it’s a few years in a row now that it’s been a CBS 4:25 Eastern doubleheader, and it’s pushing 30-35 million viewers. You know, I’m not sure it does that in Week 1 without Patrick Mahomes.”
The Chiefs and Bills have played 10 times since the start of 2020 and that rivalry has become one of the NFL’s biggest.
About that Spain game
They likely won’t play the Bills on, say, “Sunday Night Football” in Week 1, but the Chiefs will get plenty of primetime games, North said. And they might get that game they covet against the Falcons in Spain.
It’s just that the NFL is trying to determine when to put the Chiefs on national TV while Mahomes’ return date is unknown.
“If you look at the Chiefs’ schedule, they’re going to be on national television, call it 10 times between all the primetime games and the 4:25 games,” North said. “They’re probably a candidate to go international this year. There’s going to be a lot of national television for the Chiefs.
“I don’t know that we can afford to wait four or five weeks before we start that because then you’re talking about maybe each of the last, whatever, 12 games of the season are going to be nationally televised and that kind of burned us last year if you’ll remember. You know, we still had that Chiefs-Broncos game on Christmas after Mahomes got hurt and the team was eliminated from playoff contention. So, I’d hate to save all the Chiefs primetime appearances for the end of the season. There’s going to have to be something early.”
Plus, putting the Chiefs on primetime in the first month of the season may not mean the game would be without Mahomes.
Reid won’t say when Mahomes will begin practicing, but North knows the Chiefs quarterback is working diligently to return to action.
“Never say never. I saw the guy on social media,” North said of Mahomes. “He’s throwing already. He looks like himself. I don’t think we’re going to shy away too much from Chiefs on national television right away.”
This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 8:52 AM.
