San Francisco 49ers Set To Rack Up Frequent Flyer Miles During 2026 NFL Season
The NFL is set to release its schedule tomorrow night. With that being said, there have been various leaks about select marquee games. The San Francisco 49ers, as one of the NFL’s marquee franchises, have drawn the short end of the stick as it pertains to miles traveled. ‘
San Francisco is far and away the team with the most travel this regular season. They are racking up over 38,00 miles this upcoming year. The team with the second-most miles traveled is the Los Angeles Rams at nearly 35,000. To put that in perspective, the 49ers will have to travel the equivalent of a trip from New York to London more than any other team this season. How will the 49ers adapt to such a grueling travel schedule?
San Francisco 49ers Schedule Breakdown
NFL fans already knew it was going to be a rough travel year for the 49ers when the league announced they would be kicking off their season all the way in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams. 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan made it abundantly clear how he felt about his team being shipped off to Australia. Needless to say, he was not thrilled.
This is what Shanahan said about his team playing in Australia. “…We had a bunch of our guys on our team go out just to feel it out, and they said they felt pretty messed up for a couple of days…I’ll b**ch about it all offseason and at my house with my wife, but I’ll embrace it once it gets going.”
It was also announced earlier today that the team will head to Mexico City on Nov. 22 for a game against the Minnesota Vikings. While Mexico is nowhere near as long a flight as Australia, it still impacts a team’s preparation. The 49ers also have multiple lengthy flights back in the United States. They have road games against the Giants, Cowboys, and Falcons this regular season.
Hopefully for San Francisco’s sake, the NFL clusters these games so the team can remain out East instead of having to continue traveling back and forth.
What Does All Of This Mean For the 2026 Season?
For one of the most injury-plagued NFL teams, an obscene amount of air travel is far from ideal. The 2026 NFL season will test every aspect of the San Francisco 49ers. They will have to lean on years of sustained excellence to succeed following a rough schedule.
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