NFL owners approve record 10 international games by 2027 with sights on further expansion overseas
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The NFL's inevitable march to play a full season overseas took another step on Tuesday when club owners approved adding one more international game to the 2027 season, bringing that total to a record 10 games.
And there's a possibility the league could add an 11th international game pending NFL Players Association approval.
So, yes, the NFL is fully invested in the export business now and its games are the product it exports.
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The NFL this season will record a new record with nine international games played in Melbourne, Australia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Madrid, Spain, Paris, France, Munich, Germany and Mexico City, Mexico and three in London, England.
Club owners approved an increase in the number of international games at a meeting in Orlando, according to NFL Executive Vice President Peter O'Reilly.
And if you think it will stop at 10 or 11 international games, you would be wrong. The main goal of the league is to play a full season of matches around the world. That means playing 17 or 18 games abroad.
That also means an international game every week of the season.
And that again means that each team plays one international match per season.
The rise of international sports has become so intense that the league managers are getting better at not separating the way they see American sports and international sports.
People wearing Bavarian clothes stand with an NFL supporter inside the traditional Hofbraeuhaus in Munich, Germany, on Nov. 9, 2024, before the NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants in Munich on Nov. 10. (Matthias Schrader/AP)
“We're not holding off on our international games like we used to do in the past,” said NFL Vice President of Broadcasting and Programming Mike North. “I mean, you'll remember that the international games are sometimes in November of the following season. I think it's an indication of how our fans and our teams and our partners handle these games now.
“I don't want to call them normal. I know they're not. But they're another NFL game in the system.”
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The current Collective Bargaining Agreement limits the league to 10 international games per year, but there are exceptions for teams that can play at their regular stadiums. It will be the same for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2027.
EverBank Stadium, currently undergoing renovations, will be closed for the 2027 season. So the Jaguars have agreed to use Camping World Stadium in Orlando as their temporary home field. That means the NFL hopes to use the Jaguars' game at Wembley Stadium as its 11th international game.
A general view outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London before the NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 15, 2023. (Photos by Vincent Mignott/DeFodi)
O'Reilly also said the league has begun to explore the possibility of playing games in Japan. The league held preseason games there in the early 1990s, but the effort was short-lived. Now, according to O'Reilly, the idea is back.
And what does this mean, you know, Americans living in the United States?
It means that the NFL, long overtaking baseball as the national sport, is increasingly seeking to dominate the world.
So, 10 or 11 games that could have been played in the United States, won't be there. And the league plans to increase the number.
It means relegation takes home fans away from home games for a while, although that appeal fades if the league expands to 18 games and local fans still get eight or nine home games per season as they do now.
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Photo shows Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, site of the 2025 NFL Madrid Game. (Kirby Lee/Images)
It also means that the NFL fully embraces the idea of turning some NFL Sundays into marathon events with an international game starting at 9:30 am (ET), followed by the usual window of 1 pm and 4 pm on the East Coast, and the first game at 8:20 pm to end the day – about 14 hours of NFL games on television.
The NFL, like it or not, intends to continue its expansion and because it already covers every corner of the United States, it has global appeal. And it doesn't look away because adding international fans could be a new way to make money.
Some fans in the United States may not agree with the idea that they should share their teams to some extent with locations and international fans.
But the NFL has clearly decided that any potential losses will be offset by the growth of its international fan base.
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