The NFL has never played more than five international games in a season, but that will likely be changing as soon as next year.
During an interview with Pat McAfee this week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that the league will be looking to play seven international games in 2025.
"We think we'll be seven next year, we're already going to Spain next year, we'll be back in Mexico, I hope, by next year," Goodell said. "So we're really excited where the future is for us on an international basis."
The NFL is holding a total of five international games this season with three games in London, one game in Germany and one game in Brazil. The Eagles-Packers game in Sao Paulo will mark the first time that the NFL has ever played a game in South America and it likely won't be the last.
During an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday, Goodell said a return trip would almost certainly be happening next season.
"We are definitely going to Spain for the first time," Goodell said of where the International games will be played in 2025. "We'll be back in Germany. We'll be back in the U.K. We hope to be back in Mexico. And we certainly intend to be back here in Brazil."
There were some player complaints prior to the Brazil game this year, but all of that came before the trip. Things have gone smoothly for the NFL since Wednesday when both teams arrived in Sao Paulo.
With seven international games on the docket for next season, let's take a look at a few cities that could end up hosting those games.
Let's start with the locations that will definitely be hosting at least one game in 2025:
The NFL will be playing three games in London this year and has played at least three games in England in eight of the past 10 years (They played zero games due to COVID in 2020 and just two games in 2021), so it seems like a lock that there will be multiple games in London while Germany and Spain will each get one game.
If England gets three games, that leaves just two open games, but if England only gets two games, that leaves three open games.
So who might get those open games? Let's look at the options:
- Mexico City
- Brazil
- Australia
- Paris
- Dublin
As Goodell noted, the NFL is looking to get back to Mexico City next season after playing five games there from 2016 through 2022. There were no games in 2023 or 2024 because Estadio Azteca is undergoing renovations ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The NFL also "intends" to return to Brazil next season. The game could stay in Sao Paulo or the league could move it to another Brazilian city like Rio de Janeiro.
As for Australia, it's on the other side of the world, but it's a market the league is watching closely. Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's head of international affairs, revealed in March that Australia is under consideration for hosting a future game that would likely be played in 2025 or 2026.
Paris and Dublin are the other two cities that are being closely monitored and it wouldn't be surprising if one of the two European capitals ends up with a game in 2025.
After holding seven games in 2025, Goodell says there will be even more international games going forward.
"Our clubs have agreed to play up to eight regular-season games. We have expectations that will go well beyond that," Goodell said. "We want the world to know we're coming, that we're bringing football."
The NFL owners approved a new international rule in December that allows the league to schedule up to nine international games per year (The eight games that Goodell mentioned, plus a Jaguars game in London). Under the rule that was approved, all teams are required to host an international game at least once every four years, so your favorite team will definitely be going abroad more often going forward.