London one week, Madrid the next?
Two-game trips to Europe might become a common choice for NFL teams as the league aims to increase the number of international games to 16 each season.
Cities like Dublin and Berlin are hoping to be added to the NFL’s list of European locations, which already includes familiar spots like London, Munich, Frankfurt in Germany, and Madrid starting in 2025.
This year, the Jacksonville Jaguars will play two games in London for the second year in a row. They begin on Oct. 13, playing “away” against the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, followed by a “home” game against the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium.
The league has received approval from team owners for eight regular-season games outside the U.S., but Commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed a desire to increase 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 planned for this season, including three in London. The first game takes place on Sunday when the New York Jets face the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham.
On Nov. 10, the New York Giants will play the Carolina Panthers in Munich. The Philadelphia Eagles won the first NFL game in South America, defeating the Green Bay Packers 34-29 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 6.
Many teams are looking to broaden their global presence — the Kansas City Chiefs want to be seen as the “world’s team” — so two-week trips should be an easy sell. Almost all teams, except for seven, take part in the league’s “global markets program,” which allows them to sign commercial deals in specific countries.
