NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was a guest on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN Friday afternoon, live from the site of the NFL Draft in Green Bay, WI. As the NFL continues to play regular season games overseas in markets around the world, the league is simultaneously focusing on how it can place more games in more markets to increase its global reach.
During the conversation, Goodell was asked about this year’s slate of seven games, which will be played in five separate countries, and whether he sees further expansion on the horizon for the NFL.
“We’re not looking to be a circus when we go in. We want to be there. We want to we want to put roots in there,” said Goodell. “We’re really looking to build this over the long term. I do believe we can get to 16 games, and I think maybe in 16 different markets.”
The NFL has been staging regular season games overseas since 2007, when the Miami Dolphins hosted the New York Giants at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Since then, the league has steadily increased its international presence. In fact, it remained consistent with five overseas games each of the past three seasons. However, this year marks a notable increase, with seven regular season games being played outside the United States.
Specifically, this season’s NFL games will take place in Brazil, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and England. Moreover, Goodell emphasized that the league intends to continue expanding into additional international markets.
“We’re doing in the UK right now, Germany is a strong market too. We had a great experience in Brazil last year. We’re looking forward to going back there,” Goodell listed. “We’ll be back in Mexico as soon as the stadium is done. They’re redoing it for the World Cup. And I think we’ll get to Asia pretty soon. So, I think we can get I think we can be worldwide with our games.”
Looking ahead, dates and times for this year’s slate of International Games will be announced when the NFL unveils its full schedule on May 14.
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