The NFL started playing regular season games internationally in 2005, when the Arizona Cardinals hosted the San Francisco 49ers at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Since then, a total of 50 international regular season games have been played. this season the NFL will feature five international games, one each in Sau Paulo and Munich, and three in London.
- Sau Paulo Game: Green Bay Packers vs Philadelphia Eagles on September 6th (Corinthians Arena)
- London Game: TBD vs Minnesota Vikings (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)
- London Game: TBD vs Chicago Bears (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)
- London Game: TBD vs Jacksonville Jaguars (Wembley Stadium)
- Munich Game: TBD vs Carolina Panthers (Allianz Arena)
But that is just the start as in the future the NFL plans to make a mark internationally by making it 8 games a year vurturally half an NFL season. Could it be that one day we see an NFL team be permanently placed overseas and this is a way of handling an 8-game home schedule in the end? Commissioner Roger Goodell stated;
“Becoming a global sport is a major strategic priority for the league and 32 teams,” said Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner. “Increasing international game inventory allows us to grow our global presence and share our game with exciting new markets to connect with more fans around the world.”
The NFL (finally) announces the schedule release will be Wednesday May 15 at 8 PM EST.
Primetime games will drop over the next two days and the full international slate will be announced on @gmfb Wednesday morning. pic.twitter.com/naDxZPexeJ
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) May 13, 2024
For many years after the NFL entered into the international market it was speculated the Jaguars would be the team that would make that jump. After all the owner is very familiar over there and the Jags have made a multi-year partnership to play overseas for many years. But recently the City of Jacksonville and the Jaguars team struck a deal to revamp the stadium into a futuristic stadium that will keep the Jaguars in Duval for a long time coming.
But the possibility of the NFL expanding is real and one would think within five years we could see an international team enter the NFL Until then, enjoy the five times we get to wake up and watch games from 9 am Eastern to 12 am. Got to love it!
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