NFL Schedule release: 49ers projected to have the most air miles in 2026

Takes mentioned in this episode

• San Francisco 49ers team · neutral

  “San Francisco 49ers”

  As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up.

• Los Angeles Rams team · neutral

  “Los Angeles Rams”

  No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.

• Houston Texans team · neutral

  “Houston Texans”

  What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles.

• Seattle Seahawks team · neutral

  “Seattle Seahawks”

  Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th.

• Arizona Cardinals team · neutral

  “Arizona Cardinals”

  The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles.

• Arizona Cardinals team · positive

  “The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles.”

  Highlighting teams with significantly lower travel requirements compared to the 49ers and Rams.

• Los Angeles Rams team · negative

  “the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there's a slate of road games rather than come back across the country. It can't be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams”

  Rams ranked second in air miles due to Australia trip and West Coast location, creating travel burden.

• Houston Texans team · neutral

  “No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles.”

  Ranking teams by air miles traveled during the season.

• Seattle Seahawks team · positive

  “the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th.”

  Comparing the travel distance of different NFL teams.

• Arizona Cardinals team · positive

  “The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles.”

  Comparing the travel distance of less-traveled teams.

• San Francisco 49ers team · negative

  “The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel... What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play.”

  Discussing the high number of air miles and difficult travel schedule for the 49ers.

• Los Angeles Rams team · negative

  “the Los Angeles Rams are second... given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.”

  Ranking the teams with the highest air miles for the season.

• Houston Texans team · neutral

  “No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles.”

  Ranking teams by total air miles traveled during the season.

• Seattle Seahawks team · positive

  “the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th.”

  Comparing the low air mileage of West Coast teams to those with high mileage.

• San Francisco 49ers team · negative

  “The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.”

  Criticizing the league's scheduling of international games for high-travel teams.

• San Francisco 49ers team · negative

  “What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A "home" game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.”

  Speaker criticizes the NFL's scheduling of international games for the 49ers, framing it as unfair competitive disadvantage.

• San Francisco 49ers team · negative

  “The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel... what could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play.”

  Discussing the high number of air miles and international game requirements for the 49ers.

• Los Angeles Rams team · neutral

  “the Los Angeles Rams are second... given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.”

  Ranking teams by air miles traveled during the season.

• Houston Texans team · neutral

  “No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.”

  Texans ranked third in air miles but significantly less than 49ers, implying competitive advantage relative to top teams.

• Seattle Seahawks team · positive

  “Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th.”

  Seahawks have significantly lower travel burden (22,056 miles, 10th) compared to division rivals 49ers and Rams, providing competitive advantage.

• Arizona Cardinals team · positive

  “The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles.”

  Cardinals have the lowest travel burden in the NFC West division (15,646 miles), providing significant competitive advantage over 49ers and Rams.

• Seattle Seahawks team · neutral

  “As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.”

  As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.

• Arizona Cardinals team · neutral

  “As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.”

  As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.

• Houston Texans team · neutral

  “As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.”

  As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.

• Los Angeles Rams team · neutral

  “As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.”

  As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.

• San Francisco 49ers team · neutral

  “As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.”

  As we figure out what shakes out for the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ schedule, the number of air miles has been tallied up. No one should be surprised that the 49ers are first, and the Los Angeles Rams are second, with 38,105 and 34,847 miles, respectively, given their Australia trip and their location on the continent.What is surprising is the margin of the third team onwards. No. 3 is the Houston Texans at 28,470 miles. Nearly 10,000 miles less than the 49ers.Most West Coast teams are slapped with more air miles. The 49ers are known for having some pretty long travel, which is why they will often stay somewhere if there’s a slate of road games rather than come back across the country.It can’t be helped that the 49ers have to travel—just the nature of the beast. What could be helped is the international games they make the 49ers play. The 49ers have that aforementioned away game in Australia with the Rams, but they also have a game in Mexico. A “home” game, mind you. So there are two games they have to go out of the country for, one of which, for all intents and purposes, should be in Santa Clara.None of this would be bothering (even a home game) if there were just a one-off per season. The fact that the NFL is asking teams that have more air miles before hitting them with two international games is where things get a bit strange.Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks travel only 22,056 miles, ranking 10th. The Arizona Cardinals are further back at 23 with 15,646 miles. Take from that what you will. I bring that up just to highlight how much of a competitive advantage the miles can give to other teams in the division. Especially one of those teams that won the Super Bowl.Because the Rams and the 49ers are playing internationally in Week 1, that trip alone will log more air miles than five other teams will travel all season.