How to Visit Every NFL Stadium Without Burning All Your Vacation Days
32 NFL Home Games. 30 Stadiums. 17 Trips. Only 13 PTO Days Required.
Ready for the 2025-26 NFL season? So are we. But what if we told you there’s a way to attend every single NFL team’s home game in one season – without quitting your job, using all of your PTO, or inventing teleportation?
Yep, you read that right.
We cracked the code and built the ultimate NFL Stadium Tour: 32 home games, 30 stadiums, all packed into 17 weeks – and it’s completely doable for real fans with real lives.
Here’s how we did it:
🗺️ Geographic clustering: We grouped home games in the same region and strategically targeted long weekends. Two teams, one trip – touchdown!
📆 Weekend and holiday leverage: From Sunday-Monday doubleheaders to utilizing Columbus Day and Thanksgiving, we optimized every federal holiday to keep PTO usage low.
🌦️ Seasonal “wave” strategy: We broke the season into 3-4 regional waves – starting and ending in warm-weather cities, tackling cold-weather stadiums mid-season, and working around bye weeks to avoid scheduling gaps.
This is more than a tour – it’s a tactical blueprint for die-hard NFL fans. Scroll down below to see the interactive tour map, tour highlights, week-by-week playbook, and detailed methodology.
The Tour
Highlights:
- 17 regional trips instead of 32 separate ones
- 13 PTO days required (or less, with red-eye returns)
- Average drive time between stadiums = 4.8 hours
- Every NFL team’s home crowd experienced in just one season
Week-by-Week Playbook
Trip 1: Midwest Kickoff
Week 1: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 1: Miami Dolphins @ Indianapolis Colts
Sunday, September 7, 1:00 PM ET
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Game 2: Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears
Monday, September 8, 8:15 PM ET
Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Logistics: 3.44-hour drive between venues | 27 hours between games
Trip 2: Texas Two-Step
Week 2: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 3: New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, September 14, 1:00 PM ET
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Game 4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Houston Texans
Monday, September 15, 7:00 PM ET
NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Logistics: 4.9-hour drive between venues | 24+ hours between games
Trip 3: Acela Corridor Same-Day Double
Week 3: | PTO Required: 0 Day
Game 5: Los Angeles Rams @ Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday, September 21, 1:00 PM ET
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
Game 6: Kansas City Chiefs @ New York Giants
Sunday, September 21, 8:20 PM ET
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Logistics: 1.79-hour drive between venues | 3+ hour buffer
Trip 4: Florida Double
Week 4: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 7: Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, September 28, 1:00 PM ET
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Game 8: New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins
Monday, September 29, 7:15 PM ET
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
Logistics: 4.13-hour drive between venues | 26+ hours between games
Trip 5: Bayou Single
Week 5: | PTO Required: 0 Day
Game 9: New York Giants @ New Orleans Saints
Sunday, October 5, 1:00 PM ET
Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Logistics: Single-game weekend flight to MSY
Trip 6: Southeast Swing (Holiday Weekend)
Week 6: | PTO Required: 0 Day (Columbus Day)
Game 10: Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers
Sunday, October 12, 1:00 PM ET
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Game 11: Buffalo Bills @ Atlanta Falcons
Monday, October 13, 7:15 PM ET
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Logistics: 4.74-hour drive between venues | Holiday provides relaxed travel
Trip 7: Beltway Battle
Week 7: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 12: Washington Commanders @ Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, October 19, 4:25 PM ET
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Game 13: Arizona Cardinals @ Baltimore Ravens
Monday, October 20, 8:15 PM ET
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
Logistics: Flight required (distance exceeds 8-hour driving threshold)
Trip 8: Rust Belt Rivals
Week 8: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 14: Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns
Sunday, October 19, 1:00 PM ET
Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland, OH
Game 15: Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions
Monday, October 20, 7:00 PM ET
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Logistics: 1.89-hour drive between venues | 24+ hours between games
Trip 9: AFC West Duel
Week 9: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 16: New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos
Sunday, November 2, 4:25 PM ET
Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
Game 17: Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Kansas City Chiefs
Monday, November 3, 8:15 PM ET
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Logistics: Flight required (11.83-hour drive exceeds threshold)
Trip 10: National Football Conference (NFC) North Legends
Week 10: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 18: Baltimore Ravens @ Minnesota Vikings
Sunday, November 9, 1:00 PM ET
U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
Game 19: Philadelphia Eagles @ Green Bay Packers
Monday, November 10, 8:15 PM ET
Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
Logistics: 5.39-hour drive between venues | 27+ hours between games
Trip 11: The Southwest
Week 11: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 20: San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, November 16, 4:05 PM ET
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Game 21: Dallas Cowboys @ Las Vegas Raiders
Monday, November 17, 8:15 PM ET
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Logistics: 5.08-hour drive between venues | Excellent November weather
Trip 12: California Classic
Week 12: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 22: Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Los Angeles Rams
Sunday, November 23, 8:20 PM ET
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Game 23: Carolina Panthers @ San Francisco 49ers
Monday, November 24, 8:15 PM ET
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Logistics: 6.57-hour drive between venues | Full day Monday for scenic coastal drive
Trip 13: Thanksgiving Weekend
Week 13: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 24: Las Vegas Raiders @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Thursday, November 27, 8:20 PM ET (Thanksgiving)
Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
Game 25: Atlanta Falcons @ New York Jets
Sunday, November 30, 1:00 PM ET
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Logistics: Flight required for multi-part trip | Two full days between games
Trip 14: SoCal Sunday
Week 14: | PTO Required: 0 Days
Game 26: Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Chargers
Sunday, December 7, 4:25 PM ET
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Logistics: Weekend flight to LAX
Trip 15: AFC South Finish
Week 15: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 27: Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday, December 14, 1:00 PM ET
Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Game 28: Kansas City Chiefs @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Monday, December 15, 8:15 PM ET
EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, FL
Logistics: Flight required (13.25-hour drive exceeds threshold)
Trip 16: Northeast Corridor
Week 16: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 29: Los Angeles Rams @ New England Patriots
Sunday, December 21, 1:00 PM ET
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Game 30: Denver Broncos @ Buffalo Bills
Monday, December 22, 8:15 PM ET
Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, NY
Logistics: 7.25-hour drive between venues | 27+ hours between games
Trip 17: The Final Leg
Week 17: | PTO Required: 1 Day
Game 31: New Orleans Saints @ Tennessee Titans
Sunday, December 28, 1:00 PM ET
Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
Game 32: Houston Texans @ Seattle Seahawks
Monday, December 29, 8:15 PM ET
Logistics: Flight required for season finale | All day Monday for travel
Conclusion
From coast to coast, this tour proves football isn’t just a game – it’s a journey! 17 trips, 32 games, and a season packed with unforgettable sights, sounds, and stadium roars.
Feeling adventurous? Try to break the world record for the fastest time to visit all NFL stadiums – currently held by John Ryan Bailey – using our tour map as your blueprint.
Methodology
To design the most efficient NFL stadium tour possible, we approached the 2025-26 season as a real-world optimization challenge – blending data analysis with Traveling Salesman Problem strategy (a classic computer science challenge that involves finding the shortest route between multiple destinations).
Using the full 2025-26 NFL schedule, we identified weekends when two or more nearby teams were playing at home, then grouped those opportunities into geographic clusters (e.g. Northeast Corridor, Southwest, Midwest).
Key logistical constraints were factored in, including game start times, driving distances (under 8 hours), travel windows, and federal holidays. We prioritized combinations that allowed for multiple games in one trip – especially Sunday-Monday pairings and long weekends – while minimizing required vacation days.
Once these constraints were mapped, we created a master matrix ranking all feasible game combinations based on travel efficiency, PTO impact, and scheduling logic. This resulted in 32 games condensed into just 17 regional trips – requiring only 13 days off work.
All data was sourced from the official 2025-26 NFL season schedule and analyzed in July 2025.
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