NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been rapidly executing his plan to take the NFL international to make the NFL bigger than it has ever been before.
There are seven regular-season international games this season, which is the most the league has ever had. During Week 1, the Chargers defeated the Chiefs 27-21 in São Paulo, Brazil. There have been three games played in London and a game played in Ireland already this season. There are also games in Munich, Germany, on Nov. 9, 2025, and in Madrid, Spain, on Nov. 18, 2025.
The NFL is doing more than simply scheduling international games to reach a global audience.
On Sept. 28, 2025, the NFL announced that Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
Bad Bunny sings exclusively in Spanish and plans to do the halftime show entirely in Spanish, which has generated mixed reactions from NFL fans. He will be the first Spanish-language artist to headline the show solo. Some fans are excited because his performance will be a landmark for Latino culture, but some are opposed to him headlining. For instance, conservative influencer Robby Starbuck posted to X, “Does this guy really scream American football to anyone?”
In the past, Bad Bunny has claimed he would never tour in the mainland U.S. over concerns of his fans being targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to Billboard.com, Bad Bunny stated, “But there was the issue of like, ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
President Trump’s former campaign manager and longtime advisor, Corey Lewandowski, was recently on “The Benny Show,” where he responded to Bad Bunny’s comments about ICE. “There is nowhere you can provide a safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else,” Lewandowski said.
In a statement released by the NFL, Bad Bunny said the show “is for my people, my culture and my history.”
The first game of the NFL International Series, which are regular-season games played outside the United States, occurred in 2007 at Wembley Stadium in London. From 2007 to 2015, Wembley Stadium was the only place where International Series games were played.
The NFL later expanded to another stadium in London and a stadium in Mexico City. Before this, the NFL only had the American Bowl, which was a series of preseason games played internationally. The league also had NFL Europe, which was a developmental league based in Europe. The American Bowl ended in 2005, and NFL Europe ceased operations in 2007, paving the way for the introduction of the International Series.
Since 2007, the International Series has had 55 games across 7 different countries. London has hosted 42 of these games.
Goodell has made plans for games in Australia in 2026 and has expressed interest in having games in Asia. Goodell has stated that he wants every team to play at least one international game per season.
Moreover, Goodell has long expressed his interest in having an entire franchise located in London. This may come with some challenges.
During an interview with InsideHook.com, former NFL running back Melvin Gordon III expressed his concerns about the possibility of a permanent international team. “Honestly, I think it’d be tough, especially for people who have families, because you would have to be there for a while. Unless you do eight straight home games and then eight away games, it’d be tough,” Gordon said.
Saint Paul’s sophomore Christian Buffa believes the NFL should establish a permanent franchise in London immediately. “It would draw a lot of media attention and generate new sponsorships for the NFL. The NFL could produce a lot of new merchandise, and it would be a great opportunity for players and fans to travel to a great tourist destination,” Buffa said.
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Wembley Stadium, which has held 27 International Series games, has a capacity of 90,000 seats, while NFL stadiums have a capacity of around 60,000-80,000 seats. The average attendance of games played in Wembley Stadium between 2007 and 2015 was 82,900, whereas the average attendance of NFL games in the United States was around 68,000 in that same time span.
Since 2007, viewership of the NFL in the UK, “…has more than doubled, and the Super Bowl audience has increased more than 75 percent,” according to Wembley Stadium’s official website.
Most International Series games have a large turnout of local fans. According to SportsPro.com, “Overall, 66% of ticket-buyers at 2023 London games were UK-based.”
The NFL is also expanding its global merchandise and marketing. According to the NFL, global merchandise sales have increased by more than 30% since 2022. Pop-up NFL shops that sell exclusive merchandise have appeared in London, Frankfurt, and Madrid. The NFL recently opened a pop-up shop on Carnaby Street in London on Oct. 2, 2025, that had limited-edition collaborations and merchandise right before the game there on Oct. 5, 2025.
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In 2021, the NFL announced its International Home Marketing Area (HMA) initiative. This allowed teams to submit proposals to be given marketing rights for a certain country for five years. Teams can sell merchandise and sponsorships, host events, and have priority to play in International Series games hosted in their country. As of 2025 and across 21 countries, all 32 teams have been granted rights in at least one country.
Most players and coaches have supported the league’s international expansion. International games are a great team bonding opportunity and provide a unique experience for players and coaches.
NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers enjoys the travel opportunities of international games. According to the NFL, “We’re all excited. I think the reason I said I wanted to go over early was just to experience a little bit of that culture, to be able to get out and see some sights and interact with fans and … shoot, go to a pub and have a Guinness or whatever the local brew is. That’s what we all want to do, those of us that want to go over early,” Rodgers said.
International fan enthusiasm is reflected in TV ratings. According to the NFL, Super Bowl LVIII was aired live in over 195 countries and territories in over 25 languages. It had reached approximately 210 million viewers with an international viewership of 62.5 million.
The fact that approximately one-third of the viewership of some modern NFL games is international indicates that Goodell has been successful in his international ambitions, both in terms of ratings and revenue.
Saint Paul’s sophomore Elijah Drez thinks international fans like the NFL because it provides an experience unlike any other. “I think international fans are drawn to the NFL because it has an atmosphere that is completely different from any other sport. There is so much strategy and energy that you don’t see in other sports,” Drez said.
Even though this expansion has been really successful, it still does come with some challenges.
There are challenges, such as players and coaches having to fly thousands of miles and adjust to different time zones. Other significant concerns include limited practice time due to travel and the impact that long flights have on recovery and performance.
The biggest problem caused by international games, however, is that the teams that have to give up a home game have the consequences of losing home-field revenue and home-field advantage.
There are also problems with some of the fields at international games.
Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby is confused by the NFL’s inability to provide good playing conditions, and he attributes Packers quarterback Jordan Love’s MCL tear last season to the playing conditions of the field in Brazil.
“The only thing that’s like mind-blowing to me is the fact that they can’t get the field conditions right — every time they do an offsite game. It’s the same exact thing, like people falling left and right, left and right. Jordan Love gets hurt; like there’s a lot of stuff that it’s like there’s a lot of risk,” Crosby said.
Nevertheless, Goodell insists that the global expansion is good for the game. “In today’s world, we have to be global. Every time we play an international game, fans say they want more. I really, truly believe our game can and will be global. Our job is to share our game with the rest of the world,” Goodell told ESPN.
The NFL’s international expansion is continuing to bring the game to a world that is eagerly ready to watch.
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Featured Image Photo Credit: Chris Fore of CoachFore.org
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