NFL owners approve record 10 international games for 2027 with sights on more expansion abroad
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The NFL’s inexorable march towards playing games abroad all season long took another step forward on Tuesday when club owners approved adding one more international game for the 2027 season, bringing that number to a record 10 games.
There’s also a possibility the league could add an 11th international game, subject to approval from the NFL Players Association.
So yes, the NFL is now fully invested in its export business, and its games are products it ships overseas.
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The NFL will set a new record this season with nine international games 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 increasing the number of international games at a meeting in Orlando, according to NFL Executive Vice President Peter O’Reilly.
And if you think this will stop in 10 or 11 international matches, you are wrong. The ultimate goal of the league is to play matches at international level throughout the entire season. This means 17-18 matches abroad.
This also means an international match every week of the season.
and this Moreover It means that each team plays one international match each season.
The proliferation of international games is so intense that league executives are moving toward not distinguishing between their perspectives on games in the United States and games abroad.
People wearing Bavarian clothing pose with an NFL fan at the traditional Hofbraeuhaus in Munich, Germany, on November 9, 2024, before the NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants on November 10 in Munich. (Matthias Schrader/AP)
“We’re not focusing on our international games like we did a long time ago,” NFL Executive Vice President of Broadcasting and Planning Mike North said. “So, you will remember, from time to time in November we announced international matches for the following season. I think that is an indication of how our fans, our teams and our partners treat these games.
“I don’t want to call them routine. I know they’re not. But they’re just another NFL game on the schedule.”
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The current Collective Bargaining Agreement limits the league to 10 international matches per year, but there is an exception for teams that cannot play at home. It will be the same for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2027.
EverBank Stadium, currently under renovation, will be completely closed through the 2027 season. Therefore, the Jaguars 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 the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London before the NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans on October 15, 2023. (Vincent Mignott/DeFodi Images)
O’Reilly also said the league has begun exploring the possibility of playing games in Japan. The league held preseason games in the early 1990s, but these efforts were short-lived. Now, according to O’Reilly, that idea is back.
So what does this mean for Americans living in the United States?
This means that the NFL, which long ago surpassed baseball as the national sport, increasingly wants to dominate the world.
So, 10 or 11 games that would normally be played in the United States will not be played. And the league plans to increase the number.
This means outsourcing games temporarily takes home matches away from local fans; But this complaint would lose its impact if the league expanded to 18 games and local fans continued to receive eight or nine home games per season as they do now.
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A graphic shows Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where the 2025 NFL Madrid Game will be played. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
This also means the NFL has fully embraced the idea of turning some NFL Sundays into marathon events, with an international game starting at 9:30 a.m. ET, followed by the normal 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. windows on the East Coast, and ending with nearly 14 hours of NFL games on television at 8:20 p.m. at the end of the day.
The NFL, like it or not, intends to continue its expansion, and since it already covers every corner of the United States, it has set its sights on international. And he’s not looking away because adding his international fan base potentially means a new revenue stream.
Some fans in the United States may balk at the idea that they have to share their team with international venues and fans on some level.
But the NFL has made clear that any potential loss will be outweighed by the growth of its international fan base.
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