Could Seahawks-Rams take their rivalry to Australia? Seattle wants in on NFL's first game Down Under in 2026

The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams have one of the best rivalries going in the NFL, and soon, they could be taking that rivalry Down Under.

The Rams will play the NFL's first-ever game in Australia next season, and although the opponent hasn't been announced, it seems the Seahawks have volunteered for the job. During an interview with the Herald Sun in Australia that took place in late October, the Seahawks' director of international, Isabelle Van Coevorden, made it clear her team was interested in facing the Rams at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

"We would love to," she said.

Van Coevorden also hinted that the Seahawks have made a direct request with the NFL in hopes of being sent to Australia.

"It's something that we're waiting to hear back from the league. The NFL hasn't announced who their opponent will be," Van Coevorden said.

Her comments were given exclusively to an Australian newspaper, which is likely why they flew under the radar.

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The NFL still hasn't announced who the Rams will be playing, but the Seahawks would certainly be an attractive option. Due to the extensive travel involved, sending another West Coast team would make the most sense. The flight time from Los Angeles to Melbourne is almost 16 hours, but a team flying from the East Coast would be looking at well over 20 hours of travel time.

With the Rams serving as the designated team, that means their opponent will be one of the nine teams they're scheduled to play at home in 2026: the Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, Giants, Packers, Cowboys, Chiefs, Chargers and Bills.

Out of that group, the 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals and Chargers are all in the Pacific Time Zone. (The Cardinals are technically on Mountain Standard Time, but Phoenix aligns with Pacific time during daylight saving time.)

The NFL has hinted that the game is going to be played in Week 1. Due to the lengthy flight and extreme time difference between the United States and Australia, the league wants to make sure both teams have enough time to get ready for their Week 2 game, so the plan would be to play the Week 1 Australia game early in the week.

During an interview back in April, the NFL's vice president of broadcast planning, Mike North, revealed that a Wednesday game is one of the possibilities being considered.

"I suspect it will probably be early in the week, more like a Thursday, maybe even a Wednesday. That's a possibility that we've discussed," North said.

Australia has a 14-hour time difference with the Eastern Time Zone, which would certainly create logistical issues for the NFL. For a Wednesday night game to happen, it would have to kick off at 10:15 a.m. Thursday in Melbourne, which would create an 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff on Wednesday night in the United States (and 5:15 p.m. PT on the West Coast).

One thing that could throw a wrench into Seattle's hopes of playing in Australia is the fact that the Seahawks are in the Super Bowl. The winner of the Super Bowl generally hosts the Thursday night opener the following season, so if Seattle beats the Patriots, the Seahawks could be scheduled for that game. However, the NFL could still send the Seahawks to Australia and have them host a prime-time game in Week 2. If they're sent to Australia, the Seahawks would still play in the first game of the season -- it would just be in Melbourne.

And let's not forget, if the Rams had won the Super Bowl, they were still going to be playing in Australia next season. The NFL knew there was a chance the Super Bowl champ could open the season Down Under, which is why the Seahawks could conceivably still be sent, even if they beat the Patriots.

"If we do play a game, you will see a lot of Seahawks lead-up and around the game, and if we don't, we will definitely still activate and bring the energy of the Seahawks over to Melbourne," Van Coevorden said.

It's certainly possible the NFL is waiting to see what happens in the Super Bowl before finalizing whether the Seahawks will be sent to Australia.

Seattle has been making a strong push to promote the team Down Under. The Seahawks, who were granted marketing rights to Australia and New Zealand in March, sent a contingent to Melbourne in October. The Seahawks even paid for some team legends, the Seahawks Dancers and their mascot to take part in a watch party in Melbourne for their Week 9 game against the Commanders, a game Seattle won 38-14.

Van Coevorden thinks a Seahawks-Rams game would be the perfect way to kick things off in Australia.

"I think it's a great matchup and a great first game in Australia," she said. "So, we're really keen on hearing more and our fingers are crossed for sure."

The Rams and Seahawks faced each other three times during the season, with Seattle winning twice, including Sunday's 31-27 victory in the NFC Championship Game. The 2025 series marked just the third time over the past 75 years that two division rivals played three games in a single season that were all decided by four points or less.

The NFL usually tries to avoid sending divisional matchups abroad, but the league softened that stance last year when it sent the Chiefs and Chargers to Brazil. With the Seahawks essentially volunteering for the Australia game, the league could have an easy decision to make -- as long as the Rams are OK losing a home game against a divisional opponent.