A day after next week’s NFL kickoff game between the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and visiting Dallas Cowboys, the NFL will host its first international contest of the year: a matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday, Sept. 5.
It’s the second straight year the NFL has held a game in Brazil on the first Friday of the season, and the first of seven contests slated for the league’s international series.
Week 4 will see the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers play the NFL’s first regular-season game in Dublin, Ireland, while Week 5 will feature a Vikings-Cleveland Browns showdown in London. The next two weeks after that will feature London games between the Denver Broncos and New York Jets, as well as the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 10, the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts will play in Berlin, and then, in Week 11, the final international game of the year will take place when the Washington Commanders and Miami Dolphins meet in the NFL’s first game in Madrid.
The seven-game international series represents an increase from the five played abroad in 2024. Given the steady growth, it’s fair to wonder whether the slate will expand further next season. For now, only a game in Australia has been announced for next season, although a provision in the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for an expansion of up to 10 games in 2026.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed a desire to have as many as 16 international games per season. Players, meanwhile, have been wary about a booming expansion because of the physical toll international travel takes on them. The CBA states that NFL owners and the NFL Players Association leaders would have had to meet before this 2025 season and negotiate expansion beyond 10 games. League officials said Wednesday that a meeting has yet to take place, but expansion could still happen.
“Growing globally is a huge priority for ours, and games or a piece of that … but we’re not at that 10 number yet,” NFL executive vice president Peter O’Riley said on a conference call Wednesday. “We’ll have any of those appropriate conversations and necessary conversations should we look to get to that number that’s referenced in the CBA.”
The game in Brazil will be broadcast for free on YouTube, which the NFL views as vital to the game’s international growth, even during a time when games are increasingly aired on subscription-based platforms such as Peacock, Amazon Prime and Netflix.
“Delivering our games and making (them) as accessible as possible is hugely important,” O’Riley said before citing examples of Mexico and Germany, where NFL games air on free television platforms. “Free TV has an expanded definition these days. YouTube is a great example of the modern era of free TV. That game globally on that next Friday night, going out around the world, not behind a paywall, but for all fans to experience.
“We want as many … fans as possible to have access to our game, and that’s that much more important around the world as we educate people on our sport and bring them into this incredible game that we all know and love.”
Other tools for international expansion include the NFL’s investment in flag football on the youth, high school and Olympic levels.
“There is this passionate fan base around the world that’s growing. … I think the ownership really sees the opportunity to become a true global sport,” O’Riley explained. “As we travel around the world, so many of us, we see this demand. … It really feels like the momentum is there based on how the owners and our partners are thinking about it, and we couldn’t be more excited about that.”
(Photo of 2024 NFL game in Brazil: Wagner Meier / Getty Images)