Imago
Credits: IMAGO
Imago
Credits: IMAGO
Essentials Inside The Story
- Nick Bosa’s family publicly targets Roger Goodell over unprecedented travel load.
- NFL assigns 49ers two international games, triggering record-breaking mileage.
- Competitive balance concerns grow as schedule strain overshadows 2026 outlook.
Nine road trips in one calendar year with two international games is the 49ers’ 2026 reality, and Nick Bosa’s family is letting the world know who’s responsible. When the NFL confirmed the two international games (a franchise first), Bosa’s mother, Cheryl, who is never one to mince words, took to social media to voice her outrage. She made sure to use some of the strongest possible language to condemn the NFL commissioner’s decision.
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“Roger Goodell is the Devil! Most Horrible Human Ever,” Cheryl wrote on an Instagram story, sharing a reel that dissected the team’s upcoming travel burden, which spans more than 54 time zones.
But truth be told, she wasn’t alone in her criticism. The reel she shared had a hot take against Goodell. In it, content creator Evan Hand shared a similar opinion to Cheryl:
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“Roger Goodell is the most evil person in the world for what this man is doing to the San Francisco 49ers in 2026,” he said before showing the franchise’s tight traveling schedule for the next season. “They have to play in Australia and also Mexico City. With their entire schedule next year, their total travel is 38,000 miles, which is the most by any team ever.”
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Here’s the thing: the team is expected to play at Melbourne Cricket Ground against the Los Angeles Rams, the NFL’s first-ever game in Australia. It will be a 15,738-mile trip, and later, in December, they will play at Mexico City’s Estadio Banorte, likely during Week 13 or 14. That will be another 3,854 miles, and all in all, much worse than the 2025 season.
Last season, San Francisco had a comparatively easy travel schedule, racking up more than 28,000 miles. That was the fifth-most of any team last year. However, teams based on either coast often end up logging the most travel miles in the NFL, and that proved true for the San Francisco 49ers. Road games in New Orleans, New York City, Cleveland, Houston, and Indianapolis contributed significantly to that total mileage.
Nick Bosa’s mom goes off at Roger Goodell😳:
“Roger Goodell is the Devil! Most Horrible Human Ever” 🤯 pic.twitter.com/QclnJ9Qnpb
— NFL Gossips (@GossipsNFL) February 22, 2026
Here’s a list of games that the 49ers will travel for in the upcoming season:
- 49ers at Rams (Melbourne, Australia) – 15,738 miles
- 49ers at Giants – 5,111 miles
- 49ers at Falcons – 4,258 miles
- 49ers home game in Mexico City (opponent TBD) – 3,854 miles
- 49ers at Chiefs – 2,958 miles
- 49ers at Cowboys – 2,934 miles
- 49ers at Seahawks – 1,412 miles
- 49ers at Cardinals – 1,224 miles
- 49ers at Chargers – 616 miles
The mileage is staggering by itself, but the competitive disadvantage for Nick Bosa’s team is the storyline that’s seemingly flying under the radar. Studies across professional sports have shown that heavy travel can hinder performance, slow recovery, and increase the risk of injury. So, while Roger Goodell’s international push comes as no surprise, can the Niners keep up their momentum in the face of constant travel?
The real competitive toll for Nick Bosa & Co.
San Francisco is already battling infrastructure issues at Levi’s Stadium, including an ongoing electrical substation situation. Piling a record-breaking global itinerary on top of that feels less like scheduling and more like sabotage. But CBS Sports’ John Breech sees the possibility of a small silver lining.
“On top of playing two international games, the 49ers also have two cross-country trips with games at Atlanta and at New York against the Giants,” Breech wrote last week. “If the NFL combined those two games into one road trip, that would shave almost 4,000 miles off San Francisco’s travel schedule, and in that case, they wouldn’t break the all-time travel record.”
However, if the final schedule doesn’t favor them, that’s four grueling road segments packed into one campaign. Without that 4,000-mile relief, 2026 feels like a cumulative grind. What makes this stranger is the market response. Prediction platforms have actually bumped San Fran’s Super Bowl odds upwards since the schedule broke, a baffling signal given the circumstances.
Adding to their ongoing issues at Levi’s Stadium, even home isn’t a guaranteed sanctuary anymore, which has left the Niners unhappy.
“That’s not fair,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said about the schedule earlier this month. “The NFL, I feel, is doing us a disservice. Because if we’re going to talk about health and safety, to do two international games like that is almost like playing three games in 13 days.”
Jet lag and climate change will only add to the Niners’ problems in 2026. With 31 franchises out to beat you, the 2026 schedule will ask more of a single NFL franchise than any schedule in league history. 38,000 miles doesn’t negotiate with talent or pedigree, and Cheryl Bosa is counting every single one of them.
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