Since the National Football League (NFL) passed a resolution in 2015 to extend its International Series through 2025 and broaden its reach beyond the United Kingdom, the league has witnessed significant growth in global markets.
By May 2025, all 32 NFL teams had been granted marketing rights in 21 international regions, marking a pivotal shift in the league’s strategy to engage with fans worldwide. The NFL expanded its international footprint to Greece and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2025, with the Los Angeles Chargers securing marketing rights in Greece and the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Commanders obtaining rights in the UAE.
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Growth of international games
A decade ago, the NFL hosted only three global games, all at London’s Wembley Stadium. Fast forward to 2025, and the league will host a total of seven international games throughout the 2025 season, three in London and one each in Dublin, Madrid, Berlin, and São Paulo. The 2026 season will mark a historic milestone with the NFL’s inaugural game in Australia, scheduled to take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Looking further ahead, China has emerged as a potential target for hosting a regular season game in Asia. Despite the significant time zone challenges — China is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Time in the US — the NFL is keen on expanding its presence across Asia with China being a key market.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed ambitions to stage 16 international games annually, ensuring that each team participates in at least one game outside the United States. However, this goal faces hurdles, particularly due to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which limits the number of international games to a maximum of 10.
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By GlobalDataThe cooperation of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) will be crucial in realizing this vision, especially as the NFLPA undergoes a leadership transition, making it unlikely that the NFL will expand its International Series to 16 games before 2031.
Viewership and engagement
Looking at the viewership of some of this year’s international games, the matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin attracted 7.9 million viewers across TV and digital platforms, ranking as the second most-watched NFL Network international game to date. This figure is surpassed only by the highly publicized 2023 clash between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany.
The game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Chiefs at the Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, which was broadcast exclusively on YouTube, attracted 16.2 million viewers in the United States, along with an additional 1 million viewers from international markets.
Unlike the Europe-based international games that are aired in the morning in the United States, this matchup in Brazil was broadcast at 8 p.m. ET, which was crucial in attracting a significantly larger television audience. It is important to note that the audience for the Brazil season opener is an outlier, as the game took place on the first Friday evening in September and was the only instance in which the league could play during this timeslot.
Commercial revenue opportunities
As the NFL seeks to enhance its commercial revenues, the potential sale of an international games media rights package emerges as a key opportunity. The current media rights cycle, which commenced in 2021 and runs through the 2033 season, includes an opt-out clause for all media partners — except Disney — after the 2029-30 season. This opens the door for the NFL to negotiate a new offering that incorporates rights to its international games package.
Commissioner Roger Goodell’s push to expand the regular season from 17 to 18 games represents a significant strategy for the league to bolster the value of its media rights. By providing networks with the opportunity to associate themselves with even more exhilarating NFL action, this expansion could serve as a compelling selling point for broadcasters and streaming platforms alike.
Potential media partnerships
A noteworthy benchmark for potential new media deals is the NFL’s existing 11-year partnership with Amazon, valued at $1 billion per year, which allows the streaming service to air 16 regular season Thursday Night Football games.
These games, typically broadcast at 8:15 p.m. ET, attract a larger audience compared to international games. The NFL is poised to significantly enhance its revenue streams through a new media package dedicated to Sunday morning international games in the US. By valuing its International Series rights at approximately $55 million per game, the league could attract substantial interest from networks eager to acquire these rights.
If the NFL successfully implements its plan to host 16 international games each year, it stands to generate an estimated $880 million annually in media income.
ESPN stands out as a potential network well-positioned to bid for these rights. In 2025, the NFL and ESPN strengthened their commercial relationship, with the NFL acquiring a 10% equity stake in ESPN in exchange for ownership and control over several NFL media assets, including NFL Network, linear rights to RedZone, and NFL Fantasy Football.
Securing international series rights would enhance ESPN’s NFL Sunday programming, allowing fans to watch morning international games and seamlessly transition to the popular RedZone show, which provides live coverage of all Sunday afternoon NFL games.
In the United States, CBS and Fox dominate the broadcasting of NFL Sunday afternoon games, while NBC is the go-to network for Sunday Night Football. For streaming, NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV offers access to all out-of-market Sunday afternoon games.
This landscape presents a unique opportunity for ESPN to secure live rights for Sunday NFL games, potentially expanding its coverage and audience reach.
