LONDON (AP) — London one week, Madrid the next?
Two-game trips to Europe could become a regular option for NFL teams as the league looks to increase the number of international games to 16 per season.
Cities like Dublin and Berlin hope to join the NFL’s roster of European destinations that already includes old standby London, Munich and Frankfurt in Germany, and the Spanish capital as of 2025.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will play back-to-back games in London for the second straight season this year, starting Oct. 13 when they are “away” against the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and then “home” against the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium.
The league has approval from team owners for eight regular-season games abroad, but Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he wants to double that number.
“There probably will be times where it might make sense for a team to play as a visiting team and then as a home team, and that might be in one market or it could be in Europe as a whole,” said Henry Hodgson, general manager of the NFL’s UK office.
“You would expect that with 16 games a year, those are the kinds of logistical and operational things that we’ll need to be looking at as we expand that way.”
Five international games are on the schedule this season, including three in London starting Sunday when the New York Jets play the Minnesota Vikings at the home of Premier League soccer club Tottenham. On Nov. 10, the New York Giants face the Carolina Panthers in Munich. In the first NFL game in South America, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 34-29 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 6.
Plenty of teams are trying to expand their global reach — the Kansas City Chiefs want to be the “world’s team” — so two-week trips should be an easy sell. All but seven teams participate in the league’s “global markets program” with rights in selected countries to sign commercial deals.
The NFL’s international itinerary
For Europe, Dublin and Berlin are in the mix as are other German cities. Paris might be a longer wait.
London has been hosting regular-season games since 2007 and Germany since 2022. Real Madrid’s renovated Santiago Bernabéu Stadium will host a game next season — and club officials expect it will be an annual event. Teams are already lobbying for that debut — Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said it “would be epic.” Bernabéu’s pitch retracts to make way for an artificial turf field for American football.
The Irish capital has hosted college football games at Aviva Stadium for several years. Three teams — the Jets, Jags and Pittsburgh Steelers — have commercial interests in Ireland through the global markets program.
“Dublin is certainly squarely in that conversation,” Hodgson said.
The Steelers have strong ties to Ireland and they’ve linked up with the influential Gaelic Athletic Association, which owns the 82,300-capacity Croke Park. The venue hosted a Steelers preseason game in 1997.
“Between them, the Jags, the Jets — there’s a lot of interest in playing in that market,” Hodgson said.
Several German cities applied before Munich and Frankfurt were selected as hosts. The league has committed to play there through next season but Goodell said they intend to extend.
Berlin did not initially apply but confirmed to The Associated Press that it wants to host a game at Olympic Stadium. The state-owned venue is “ideally suited” to stage an NFL game, said Heiner Spannuth, deputy spokesperson of the Berlin Senate Department for the Interior and Sport. He said they’ve talked to the NFL but there’s no agreement.
A Berlin game would be a full circle moment for Goodell, who helped organize a preseason game at Olympic Stadium between the Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams in 1990 after the Berlin Wall fell and just before reunification. The stadium then hosted several other preseason games.
Paris is a goal but there’s uncertainty over the Stade de France lease. It’s the same problem MLB faced after planning a series for 2025 only to back off. The NFL has called Stade de France “the key stadium in France.” A stadium spokesperson confirmed to the AP that the sides have talked and noted the lease issue.
The NFL conducted feasibility studies in several European cities, including Dublin, though Hodgson declined to name others. Barcelona’s Camp Nou is under renovation, though the city’s Montjuic Olympic Stadium hosted Barcelona Dragons games in the NFL Europe days. Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden, staged a preseason game in 1988.
Beyond Europe, possible new destinations include Australia. Tokyo has hosted preseason games. Brazil seems likely again and the league plans to return to Mexico City following the 2026 World Cup.
Advantage Jags?
Goodell has noted the league’s main concern with international games is whether some teams gain advantages. It’s one reason why in 2022 he floated the idea of having a full European division of teams.
The Jaguars went 2-0 last season in London, beating the Atlanta Falcons and the Buffalo Bills.
Like many other teams do, the Bills had arrived Friday morning for the Sunday afternoon game — which was Day 10 for the Jags. Buffalo had a sluggish start and lost 25-20. Bills coach Sean McDermott complained his team lacked energy.
“Travel fatigue will be reduced by being here for a longer period and jet lag will be reduced by being here for a longer period,” said Tom Brownlee, associate professor in Applied Sport Sciences at the University of Birmingham. “If you’re tired, you’re just not as good as when you’re fresh.”
Reaction time, cognitive processing and decision-making can all be impacted. On the other side, Brownlee added, long stays can create psychological fatigue.
Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence said last year of the extended stay: “I don’t know if I’m the right person to ask … I know we’re excited to go home. It’s a long time away from your life.”
