For decades, American football has been a domestic ritual — a Sunday communion of stadiums, broadcasts, and shared national time. Now, Roger Goodell has confirmed what the league's expanding international schedule has long implied: the NFL will one day plant permanent franchises on foreign soil, and the Super Bowl itself may eventually follow. The 2026 season, with nine games across Australia, Brazil, Europe, and Mexico, marks not an experiment but a commitment — the early architecture of a league that has decided the world is its market.
Goodell confirms NFL plans multiple international teams, eyes overseas Super Bowl
At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA.
Mark
Why would the NFL actually move a team overseas when they already dominate the American market?
Mimi
Because dominance at home has limits. The American sports audience is finite. Europe, Asia, Latin America—those are billions of people who barely watch football. A permanent team in London or Paris isn't about replacing American revenue. It's about adding to it.
Mark
But doesn't the travel logistics make it almost impossible? A team playing half its games in Europe?
Mimi
It's hard, yes. But the NFL has solved harder problems. And they're not thinking about this as a burden—they're thinking about it as a feature. A European franchise becomes a gateway to European sponsorships, European broadcast deals, European merchandise. The travel is real, but the money is bigger.
Mark
What about the Super Bowl in London? That seems genuinely strange.
Mimi
It does. The Super Bowl is America's secular holiday. Moving it overseas feels like a betrayal of something fundamental. But the NFL has shown it will reshape tradition if the financial case is strong enough. The time zone problem is solvable if you're willing to accept a weird kickoff time.
Mark
So this is definitely happening?
Mimi
The infrastructure is already being built. Nine international games in 2026, approval for ten in 2027, the removal of team veto power over home games being moved abroad. Goodell wouldn't be talking about this publicly if it wasn't the plan. It's not a question of if anymore. It's a question of when and where.
Mark
Which city gets the first team?
Mimi
London is the obvious choice. It's English-speaking, it has the infrastructure, it has the wealth. But Paris, Madrid, maybe even Mexico City are in the conversation. Goodell isn't saying yet. But somewhere in Europe, probably within the next decade or two, an NFL team will call home.
Der Puls
- Goodell's declaration to a German outlet was unambiguous — multiple NFL teams will eventually be based outside the United States, with London and Paris among the likeliest candidates for permanent franchises.
- The 2026 season alone sends teams to Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, London, Paris, Madrid, Munich, and Mexico City, a global footprint that signals the league is no longer testing the waters but wading in.
- Starting in 2027, the NFL has voted to allow up to ten international games per season and stripped individual teams of their power to block home games from being relocated abroad — a structural shift, not a courtesy.
- The obstacles are formidable: transcontinental travel fatigue, a Super Bowl kickoff time that would land at midnight in London, and an advertising ecosystem built entirely around American prime time.
- Goodell acknowledges permanent international teams are years or decades away, but the financial logic is already written — Europe represents a vast untapped revenue market, and the league has made clear that money leads the way.
For decades, American football has been a domestic ritual — a Sunday communion of stadiums, broadcasts, and shared national time. Now, Roger Goodell has confirmed what the league's expanding international schedule has long implied: the NFL will one day plant permanent franchises on foreign soil, and the Super Bowl itself may eventually follow. The 2026 season, with nine games across Australia, Brazil, Europe, and Mexico, marks not an experiment but a commitment — the early architecture of a league that has decided the world is its market.
Roger Goodell told a German television outlet this week that the NFL will eventually have multiple teams based outside the United States — and that those cities could one day host a Super Bowl. "There are definitely international cities that could host something like that," he said, "but we would like to see an NFL team in such a city first."
The statement was not a distant dream. The 2026 season already features nine international games across four continents: the 49ers and Rams open in Melbourne, the Ravens and Cowboys play in Rio, four games unfold across London and Paris, and the season later visits Madrid, Munich, and Mexico City. Beginning in 2027, the league has voted to permit up to ten international games annually — and removed teams' ability to veto the relocation of their home games overseas.
The financial motive is clear. Europe represents an enormous market the NFL has barely touched, and international expansion is the most direct route to new audiences and new revenue. Goodell has also pointed to Asia as a future frontier, while Mexico City hosted regular-season games for years before a pause.
The complications, however, are real. West Coast teams face ten-to-twelve-hour flights to London or Paris. The Super Bowl's traditional 6:30 p.m. Eastern kickoff would fall at 11:30 p.m. in London — and adjusting it to a reasonable European hour would mean a noon start on the West Coast, fracturing the prime-time American broadcast model the league has spent decades perfecting.
Goodell himself concedes that permanent international franchises remain years, perhaps decades, away. But the direction is no longer ambiguous. The NFL has decided the world is its next stadium, and it is willing to solve whatever stands between that vision and the revenue it promises.
Roger Goodell sat down with a German media outlet this week and said something the NFL has been building toward for years: the league will have multiple teams based outside the United States. Not someday in theory. At some point, he said, it will happen.
The commissioner went further. Those international cities could eventually host a Super Bowl. "There are definitely international cities that could host something like that," Goodell told Markus Kuhn for RTL/ntv. "But we would like to see an NFL team in such a city first."
This isn't idle speculation. The NFL is already moving aggressively. The 2026 season will feature nine international games spread across the globe. The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will open the season in Melbourne, Australia. The Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys will play in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Then comes a four-week stretch in Europe: Indianapolis and Washington in London, Philadelphia and Jacksonville also in London, Houston and Jacksonville at Wembley, Pittsburgh and New Orleans in Paris. Later in the season, Cincinnati and Atlanta will meet in Madrid, New England and Detroit in Munich, and Minnesota and San Francisco in Mexico City. That's a significant footprint for a single season, and it's only growing. The league has already voted to approve up to ten international games starting in 2027, and that same vote removed the ability of teams to block their home games from being relocated overseas.
The money driving this expansion is straightforward. Europe alone represents an enormous untapped market for the NFL. The league has been explicit about its revenue ambitions, and international growth is the clearest path to reaching new audiences and new sources of income. Goodell has also mentioned Asia as a potential market, and Mexico City hosted regular-season games from 2016 through 2022.
But the logistics are genuinely complicated. A West Coast team traveling to London or Paris faces a 10- to 12-hour flight. Even East Coast teams would struggle with the time zone adjustment and the physical toll of international travel. Then there's the Super Bowl problem. The championship game traditionally kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time. In London, that's 11:30 p.m. Moving the kickoff to 8 p.m. London time would mean a noon start on the West Coast and 3 p.m. on the East Coast—workable on a Sunday, perhaps, but a fundamental break from the NFL's established rhythm. The league has built its entire broadcast and advertising infrastructure around prime-time American viewership. Uprooting that tradition would be a massive undertaking.
None of this is imminent. Goodell himself acknowledged that permanent international franchises are years or even decades away. But the direction is clear. The NFL is committed to establishing multiple teams outside the United States, and the Super Bowl will eventually follow. The obstacles are real, but they are obstacles the league is willing to solve. Money, as always, comes first.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA. I have no doubt that this will happen one day.— Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner
There are definitely international cities that could host something like that. But we would like to see an NFL team in such a city first.— Roger Goodell, on hosting a Super Bowl internationally
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