On Wednesday, September 10, 2026, the San Francisco 49ers and the LA Rams will invade the Melbourne Cricket Ground as the NFC rivals travel Down Under to start their respective regular season schedules. The NFL’s debut in Australia is just one game in the record-setting nine-game international regular season schedule set for 2026. Across four continents, seven countries, and eight stadiums, the league’s overseas tour is smashing last season’s seven-game slate. Just as the NBA has found international success, Roger Goodell is attempting to find the same, turning the NFL into a global sport. 

In 2005, the NFL made its first venture outside of the United States for a regular-season game, when the 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals made the trip to Mexico City. Since then, 63 games have been played internationally. 

New Faces In New Places

This season, the NFL is making its first appearance in Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, and Paris, with each game representing a unique opportunity for the league. Kicking off the regular season and the international schedule in front of potentially 100,000 fans at one of the world’s most famous sports venues, the NFL has become immensely popular in Australia thanks to fantasy football and streaming services. 

Two weeks later, the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens will meet at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium. While the league has already played games in São Paulo in 2024 and 2025, Rio offers a different vibe. Maracana is one of the most emotionally energetic stadiums in the world when Flamengo and Fluminense take to the pitch, so one can only imagine what the atmosphere will be like when the NFL comes to town, especially with the Cowboys being the league’s most globally recognized team. 

Paris’ Stade de France welcomes the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints on October 25th. After hosting the 2024 Olympics, the city, which is one of Europe’s most rapidly growing American football markets, still has world-class sports infrastructure and atmosphere to accommodate a primetime NFL matchup. 

Familiar Stomping Grounds

London continues to be a favorite stop on the NFL’s European schedule, once again hosting a trifecta of games, two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who have played 14 games in Europe, 12 as the designated home team, return for games at each of the famed soccer stadiums, taking on the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans, respectively. 

Madrid makes another appearance on the NFL schedule after a successful impression last season, welcoming nearly 79,000 fans to Bernabéu. With Real Madrid being one of the most globally recognized sports brands, it seems mutually beneficial for the two identities to combine for another event as the Cincinnati Bengals battle the Atlanta Falcons at the Bernabéu. For fans tracking lines and odds on the early international slate of games, outlets such as mansionbet.com in NFL betting circles have already started previewing the games, a significant indication of how quickly these games are becoming a part of the mainstream NFL conversation. 

Munich will see its third NFL game during the 2026 season with the New England Patriots facing the Detroit Lions at Allianz Arena in November (November 15). Germany has proven to be one of the league’s most excited and eager markets, with the Munich games selling out quickly. 

After a four-year absence, the NFL makes a return to Mexico City. After kicking off the season in Melbourne in September, the 49ers will head south to take on the Minnesota Vikings for a late November (November 22) game at Estadio Banorte. 

What This Means For The NFL

While it is nice for players and their families to get a free trip to one or more popular international destinations for a little sightseeing and a regular-season game combo, the NFL is seeing the bigger picture. 

The league is no longer testing the waters to gauge its popularity around the world; it’s constructing and locking in multi-year deals with host cities, partnerships with legendary clubs such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and broadcast arrangements to put games in front of audiences that weren’t easily accessible a decade ago. These games are no longer one-off experiments; they are becoming part of long-term international growth plans.

Viewership access has expanded alongside the game itself, meaning North American fans will no longer need niche streaming to watch their favorite team play overseas. Five of the nine international games will air exclusively on the NFL Network, while marquee matchups such as the Cowboys vs. Ravens game from Rio will be shown on CBS, and the Patriots vs. Lions game from Munich will be broadcast on Fox. 

For teams, playing a “home game” internationally means giving up a near guaranteed sellout in their own stadium, swapping home field advantage for jet lag, a hotel room, and unfamiliar field conditions. However, the marketing exposure, the increased international fanbase, and the revenue share from international contracts are hard to pass up. For teams such as the 49ers and the Jaguars, who either play multiple neutral-site games this season or are returning to their home away from home, they are using their international identity to their advantage. 

For international American football fans, these games mean that they are no longer limited to following their favorite team on TV, online, or for those fortunate enough to make the expensive trip to the US, but now they have the opportunity to enjoy the NFL game in person. 

While nine games is a record, with talk of the league hosting an 18-game regular season schedule and an international rights package worth potentially $1 billion, it seems inevitable that the NFL international schedule will continue growing well beyond 2026 as the game of American football truly becomes a global sport.