After gradually increasing the number of international games over the past several seasons, the NFL could be poised to bring its biggest annual event overseas, according to Ken Maguire of The Associated Press. 
“We’ve always traditionally tried to play a Super Bowl in an NFL city — that was always sort of a reward for the cities that have NFL franchises,” Roger Goodell at a fan forum in London last week. “But things change. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that happens one day.”
Excepting Super Bowl XLVIII, the NFL has picked stadiums either in warm-weather states or with domes to host the Super Bowl. This could be a significant barrier to an international Super Bowl. London, the most likely destination, may be too cold in February and lacks a domed stadium with enough capacity for the big game.
However, NFL executive Peter O’Reilly clarified on October 17 that an international Super Bowl is “not on the front burner,” per FOX News’ Armando Salguero.
It is more likely that the NFL continues to augment its international presence during the regular season. Goodell has proposed a 16-game international slate if the regular season expands to 18 games, though that will face pushback from the NFLPA after players have openly expressed frustration with traveling overseas midseason.
The prospect of 16 international games came up during talks that led to the 2020 CBA’s ratification, but the league’s 17-game schedule has come in well short of that mark. This season brought five international games. That is the highwater mark to date. Moving to eight has come up in the recent past. However, a jump to 16 would be a major change to the league’s schedule as a whole.
Goodell expects Dublin, Ireland and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to join the list of international hosts, with Madrid already confirmed for next season. Sweden and Australia have also come up as international sites, as is Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, which hosted a site visit in the past year, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. So far, the NFL has mostly camped in London, Germany and Mexico City. Though, the Packers-Eagles Brazil matchup marked a significant development on the international sports scene. Jaguars owner Shad Khan – who also owns West London Premier League team Fulham F.C. – is also considering playing more games in London during upcoming stadium renovations in Jacksonville.
Owned by the storied Irish-American Rooney family, the Steelers are a prime candidate to play in Dublin’s first NFL game, according to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. The Steelers and Bears played a preseason game in Dublin in 1997.