THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
It will be another record-breaking season in the National Football League this coming year as the global reach of American Football continues.
Many are saying that this year's slate of nine games across seven countries (including for the first time in France, Brazil, and Australia) will lead to an eventual 18th regular-season game in an expansion of the schedule that would include all teams playing one of those games internationally. This would mean dropping another preseason game, which the NFL dropped from four to three in 2021, something that the fans will appreciate, but it means more stress on the bodies of the players, which is another story.
Since 2007, the NFL has played games across the pond, with the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins playing at a wet Wembley Stadium in London, but now they will also play at the famous MCG in Melbourne, and at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Venues that are more famous for cricket and football respectively will now experience the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the NFL elite.
It is a bold move, but far from a gamble. It is not quite a "if you build it, they will come" moment, as the fanbase in those countries is there. And, if you put some of the most marketable names in sport into those countries, with the NFL's marketing clout, you are guaranteed to have sell-outs, even if it is out of curiosity for some.
Rio, with all its color and samba that is so often on display for their national soccer team, will have the richest sports franchise on the globe visit, as the Dallas Cowboys come to town. Australia will have another powerhouse in the game, the San Francisco 49ers, who will face off in a rare divisional game on foreign soil against rivals the Los Angeles Rams. The French-speaking quarter of New Orleans will cross the Atlantic as as the Saints come to play in their first outing in Paris. Huge teams are making a remarkable impact all around the world and it is easy to see how the NFL could expand their season.
Not stopping there, more records will be broken as two teams will provide firsts. The 49ers will play two games in two countries other than their own. As well as the game in Melbourne, they are scheduled to play in Mexico City, making them real globetrotters. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who have grown strong roots in London, will play two "home" games in their second home, albeit across two venues. They will, of course, honor their contract with Wembley Stadium, and they will also play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They have played back-to-back games in London before, but with one of them as the designated away side in both 2023 and 2024.
We will likely see more of the Jaguars over here in future as EverBank Stadium undergoes a major renovation. They will play at a much-reduced capacity this year and then play all their games away from Jacksonville. The Jaguars have a deal in place to play two games in London through to the end of the 2027 season, as the renovations are due to be completed for the start of the 2028 campaign.
Ireland, which successfully hosted its first NFL game in 2025, when the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, has been left off the International schedule this year, but is still very much in the NFL's plans. They will be disappointed not to host a game host this year, but know they will see more games in the future. Commissioner Roger Goodell said, "I think the Irish government were particularly excited about what that had done in terms of bringing visitors and, ultimately, the [overall] impact. After that, I was able to have a conversation with some of the folks that we'd worked with initially to bring the 2025 game to Dublin, and we had some positive conversations about possibly bringing more games in the future. All of that is to be determined, but we said originally we would play a game there and then we would collectively sit down and reflect on whether it worked for both sides. I think everyone agrees that it was a real success by all standards and all measures."
Where some matchups have been announced in full, the remaining teams to play in the nine games have yet to be released, and we may have to wait until the full schedule release in May to find out who plays where, and how the games fit into the calendar.
Here is a list of what has been announced so far:
