City of Sao Paulo

Chargers To Host 2025 Game In Brazil

February 19th, 2025 at 10:00am CST by Nikhil Mehta

FEBRUARY 20: The NFL’s game in Brazil in 2024 was heavily criticized for deficient field conditions that made it difficult for players to find their footing. The league is working to address those concerns in coordinator with Brazilian stadium officials, per ESPN’s Kris Rhim, though this season’s matchup hosted by the Chargers is set to be played in the same stadium as last year.

FEBRUARY 19: The NFL is officially returning to Brazil in 2025. The Eagles and the Packers squared off at São Paulo’s Arena Corinthians in 2024, and the Chargers are set to host another regular season game there in 2025, per a team announcement.

Earlier reports indicated that the NFL was in talks with Brazilian officials regarding a long-term hosting agreement. Scheduling a follow-up to last season’s matchup is a sign that the NFL plans to play in Brazil for years to come.

Like last year, the game will take place on the first Friday of the regular season; in 2025, that will be September 5. The league has not yet announced the other team who will be playing in Brazil, though the Chargers’ 2025 away opponents are already known. They are scheduled to host the rest of the AFC West, the Jaguars, the Titans, the Cowboys, the Giants, and the Dolphins.

The NFL has scheduled 49 international games since 2007 with just six between divisional opponents. That makes it less likely that the Chargers would host the Broncos, Chiefs, or Raiders in Brazil, though the last two games in Mexico City featured teams from the same decision. Since the Jaguars and the Dolphins are hosting other international games, the NFL is unlikely to make them travel overseas a second time in one season. That leaves the Titans, Cowboys, and Giants as the primary candidates to face the Chargers in Brazil. The NFL’s full schedule will be announced later this spring.

There are now seven confirmed international games set for 2025: three in London, England (hosted by the Jets, the Browns, and the Jaguars), one in Berlin, Germany (hosted by the Colts), one in Madrid, Spain (hosted by the Dolphins), and one in Dublin, Ireland (hosted by the Steelers). The NFL is permitted to schedule up to eight international games per season, per Mark Maske of The Washington Post, though the Jaguars’ annual games at Wembley Stadium do not count towards that total.

Melbourne To Host 2026 NFL Game; Sao Paulo Seeking Long-Term Hosting Deal

February 6th, 2025 at 9:52am CST by Adam La Rose

The NFL’s international expansion now has the league in position to have as many as eight games played outside the United States on a regular basis. As expected, new markets continue to emerge on that front.

Melbourne will become the next new host city for an NFL game. The league announced a game will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2026, with the Rams serving as the designated home team. Los Angeles is one of two teams which holds international marketing rights in Australia, with the Eagles being the other.

Philadelphia represents a logical opponent for the Rams given Sydney native Jordan Mailata‘s presence. Indeed, it was recently reported by the Melbourne Herald Sun that that the Rams and Eagles would be the first two teams to face off in Australia, although the latter has not been confirmed to be heading to Melbourne at this point. More notably, the Sun report adds that the city is set to host three NFL games, with the 2026 matchup being the first in that stretch. As could be expected, the NFL Players’ Association has concerns about this endeavor.

“We believe that a game in Australia, which will involve a minimum 15-hour flight before even stepping on the field, has significant implications for our players’ rest, recovery, and performance,” an NFLPA statement reads (via Daniel Kaplan of Front Office Sports). “The players are concerned that these have not been accounted for, and we look forward to hearing from the league how they plan to address these needs.”

The timing of the Melbourne game is unclear at this point, but NFL EVP Peter O’Reilly indicated Week 1 would be the most logical option given the travel demands an Australia game will create. One preseason contest was played in Sydney in 1999, but staging regular season contests will of course provide scheduling challenges for the teams which take part. The Eagles played in Week 1 for the NFL’s first Brazil game, something which does not appear to be a one-off event.

League and Brazilian officials are in discussion about a long-term hosting arrangement, as detailed by Brooks Kubena of The Athletic (subscription required). Sao Paulo hosted a game between the Packers and Eagles this season, and another one-year deal could be in play to stage a follow-up as early as 2025 (which would likely also take place at Arena Corinthians). A desire exists, though, for a deal spanning four to six years to establish stability with respect to planning future games in the country. The possibility of Brazil hosting as many as two games per season has been brought up.

2025 will see London host three games, with Berlin set to serve as a host venue for the first time (previous Germany contests have taken place in Frankfurt and Munich). Madrid will become the first Spanish market for an NFL game this season, but further announcements on the international front (even if Sao Paulo does indeed land another game) will be worth watching for. A return to Mexico City is possible, while Dublin and Paris are also contenders to serve as NFL venues in the near future.

NFL Approves 2024 Brazil Game; Nine International Games In Play For 2025

December 13th, 2023 at 10:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL has officially voted to authorize a 2024 game to be played in Brazil. After months of rumors on this front, Sao Paulo will be the site of one of the league’s international contests next season, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports.

Brazil and Spain had been the candidates for the expansion. While the NFL’s first move into South America represents a significant step, the more notable news item from the league’s Wednesday vote pertains to the 2025 season. A five-game overseas slate is on tap for 2024, but the NFL is considering a major increase in foreign contests soon after.

As many as nine international games could be on the 2025 docket, Rapoport adds. This will include eight dates plus the Jaguars’ agreement to play a London game each year. Considering the league’s international schedule sits at five presently, the football world could be in for quite the expansion in two years. The 2025 plan doubles as the most significant adjustment to the league’s schedule since it launched its international series in 2007.

The Brazil game will take place at Corinthians Arena, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Corinthians Arena hosted matches in the 2014 World Cup and was one of the venues used during the 2016 Rio Olympics. Sao Paulo being two hours ahead of Eastern Time would not mandate an early-morning game like the European venues do, though it is uncertain when this Brazil matchup will fall on the schedule.

Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal broached the subject of this international expansion for 2025, indicating (via NBC Sports’ Peter King) the NFL is considering adjusting its mandate for teams to play at least one “home” game overseas every four years rather than every eight years. Mexico City will be back in play in 2025, per King, following Azteca Stadium’s renovations. London, Germany and Spain will be on the table to host games. France has emerged as a prospective host nation as well, and the Washington Post’s Mark Maske mentions Australia as a possible host site. Sweden has also been mentioned as a possible host down the line.

With the expanded international slate looking like a go for 2025, the NFL would be on tap to see half its teams play an international game. Considering the logistical issues that come with this and certain teams losing a home game, it will be interesting to see if the league expands further. Placing 16 international games would be the fairest number here, potentially awarding overseas “home” games to the conference assigned to play only eight true home games that season. Though, that might be a tough ask given the hurdles the league encounters when formulating a schedule annually.

No organized opposition stood in place to block this effort for as many as nine international games to be played per year, King notes, adding that the eight non-Mexico City games could be presented as a TV package in the 9:30am ET window. That has served as the window for this era’s batch of Europe-based contests. It appears the NFL, which played zero overseas games in 2020 or ’21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has opened the door to a four-window Sunday in at least half of the 2025 season.

Noise about a team stationed in Europe persists, but no true movement in that direction has taken place in years. But the NFL’s travel itineraries will still look a bit different in 2025.