The NFL could open the '18 season "on a Tuesday or Wednesday in China, with its traditional Thursday night season-opening game following later that same week, according to the league’s top international executive planning the proposed game," according to Daniel Kaplan of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Intent on staging a game in China "despite the logistical difficulties, the league also is considering forgoing the traditional bye it offers clubs following overseas games, knowing the teams playing in China would have 10 or 11 days between their opening and second-week games." NFL Exec VP/Int'l Mark Waller said that the league "could schedule the game in a way that it doesn't have to get played in a window that already exists." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell disclosed in March his intent to play a regular-season game in China in '18, "though some owners have expressed concerns over logistics." The L.A. Rams have been "designated as one of the teams that would play in the game." The other team "has not been officially identified" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/15 Issue).
