NFL International Series
The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League regular season that are played outside the United States. The series has held games in the United Kingdom, which have been in place since 2007, Brazil, Germany, Ireland, Spain as well as an upcoming game in Australia. Between 2016 and 2022, the series also intermittently included games played in Mexico, though the league plans to return in 2026.
Wembley Stadium in London was the exclusive home stadium for International Series games from 2007 to 2015 and continued to host NFL games through 2019 and again since 2022. The series expanded to more stadiums, first to Twickenham Stadium in London and Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in 2016, and eventually to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in 2019. Other sites to host games include three locations in Germany: Allianz Arena in Munich, Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, and Olympiastadion in Berlin ; Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, Brazil, the Bernabéu in Madrid, Spain, and Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is set to host three games over the next five years, beginning in 2026, and Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia will also host a game in 2026.
Background
Before 2005, the primary method used by the National Football League of promoting its game abroad was through the American Bowl, a series of preseason games played around the world, and NFL Europe, a developmental league based in Europe. The American Bowls ended in 2005, while NFL Europa folded in 2007. On October 2, 2005, the Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 31–14 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico, under the name "Fútbol Americano". It was the first regular season NFL game held outside the United States. The game drew the NFL's highest game attendance at the time with 103,467 spectators.NFL commissioner Roger Goodell considered expanding the league's appeal overseas ever since the end of NFL Europe. Goodell discussed the idea of holding a future Super Bowl game in London. The collective bargaining agreement enacted in 2021 expanded the regular season to 17 games with one bye week and introduced at least four neutral site games each year from 2022. The American Football Conference and the National Football Conference will alternate seasons where they host nine regular season games and one preseason game, or eight regular season games and two preseason games. The host teams for the international games will be selected from the conference with the ninth home game, so clubs will still host eight games in their home stadium. For example, since AFC teams have nine regular season home games in 2025, seven AFC teams were selected to host an international game during the season.
The Buffalo Bills received a unanimous vote of approval to play a series of preseason and regular season games at Rogers Centre in Toronto from 2008 to 2017. This was separate from the regular International Series as arrangements were made by the Bills as opposed to the league. The Bills' Toronto Series was mutually terminated after the 2013 contest.
NFL rules require the designated home team for each international game to have their home stadium available for use in the event that a game cannot be played at the international site.
History
Early years (2007–2012)
The Miami Dolphins hosted the New York Giants in the first International Series game at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on October 28, 2007. The Giants defeated the Dolphins 13–10 in the first regular season NFL game held outside North America. The first 40,000 tickets sold out for the game in the first 90 minutes of sales. The game was aired regionally on Fox.A single game was held in London each year through 2012. Like the 2007 game, each was televised nationally in the United Kingdom, but only regionally in the United States. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' game against the Chicago Bears at Wembley in 2011 suffered from reduced ticket sales compared to previous years, with an attendance of just under 77,000 compared to around 84,000 the last two years; this was blamed on the 2011 NFL lockout, which resulted in tickets going on sale much later than in previous years. On October 11, 2011, the NFL owners approved playing NFL games in the United Kingdom through 2016. This stated that a home team could visit every year for up to five years but visitors could only visit once every five years; however, the Detroit Lions returned to London as visitors in 2015 in an apparent disregard for this rule. Subsequently, an agreement was reached to play internationally through 2025.
Multi-year deals and multi-game years (2013–2015)
On January 20, 2012, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that from 2012 to 2014, the St. Louis Rams would play one of their eight home games each year at Wembley Stadium. However, on August 13, 2012, the team announced that it would not play the proposed games in London in 2013 and 2014, only the 2012 game against the New England Patriots that had already been scheduled. Goodell had previously proposed the use of certain regular teams in the International Series in an effort to build a fan base for those teams, raising the prospect of a permanent NFL team on the British Isles.An NFL bid to become anchor tenants of London's Olympic Stadium failed.
The Jacksonville Jaguars took the Rams' place and agreed to play a home game in London for four seasons from 2013 through 2016. With this announcement also came news that the NFL was working to schedule a second UK game from 2013 onwards. In October 2012, it was announced that the Jaguars would host the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings would host the Pittsburgh Steelers, marking the first season with multiple games in London.
The NFL played three international games for the 2014 season, including one game with an earlier 9:30 am ET start, which allowed for an afternoon game, rather than an evening game, in London. This timeslot proved to be successful as all London games in 2015 and 2016 were also scheduled at 9:30 am ET. Three games were again scheduled in 2015 – including the series' first division game between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins.
Long-term deals and new stadiums (2016–2021)
On July 8, 2015, the NFL and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. announced they had reached a 10-year deal to host at least two London Games a year at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from its opening year in 2019. Additionally, on October 7, 2015, the league announced that a resolution had been passed to schedule international games at additional locations to London until 2025. Subsequently, on October 22, 2015, it was confirmed that at least two games per season would remain at Wembley through at least 2020 and that the Jacksonville Jaguars will continue to play a home game there annually throughout the agreement. Another stadium deal was confirmed on November 3, 2015, when the league announced it had reached an agreement with England's Rugby Football Union to host regular season games at Twickenham Stadium from 2016 onwards, with a minimum of three, and as many as five, games to be held over the initial agreement period of three years.In 2016, the Oakland Raiders hosted the Houston Texans on November 21 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, at the first International Series game played in Mexico. Previously, the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers had expressed interest in playing a game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, although Houston was not prepared to give up a home date. It was televised as part of ESPN's Monday Night Football, marking the first MNF game broadcast from outside the United States, and ESPN's second broadcast from Mexico City since the 2005 Fútbol Americano game.
The 2016 game between the Washington Redskins and Cincinnati Bengals was the first International Series game to go into overtime, the first to end as a tie, and had at the time the highest attendance of all International Series games.
For 2017, the series scheduled four games in London and one game in Mexico City.
In January 2018, it was announced that three games would be played in London that year, with two at Wembley and the other the first game at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium. However, it was later confirmed that the opening of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be delayed and therefore all three games would be held at Wembley. Having already fulfilled the minimum three-game requirement for Twickenham Stadium in 2017, the league would no longer host games there. The Mexico City date and opponents were not announced at that time, but were later confirmed as the Los Angeles Rams playing as designated home team against the Kansas City Chiefs. The game was subsequently moved to the Rams' then-home stadium, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, due to player safety concerns regarding the poor field conditions at Estadio Azteca. The ensuing game would also attract notoriety as the third-highest scoring game in NFL history, and the highest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history.
In October 2018, the league confirmed four London Games would take place in 2019. Wembley Stadium would host two and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would host the remaining two. The Jacksonville Jaguars would return to Wembley Stadium for the seventh consecutive year in line with their annual commitment. The final schedule was announced in April 2019 alongside that of the rest of the regular season. This marked the end of the Los Angeles Chargers', Los Angeles Rams', and Oakland Raiders' annual commitments, with all three moving to new stadiums in 2020.
In November 2019, the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins were announced as home teams for 2020 games in either London or Mexico City.
On February 4, 2020, it was announced that the Jaguars would play two home games at Wembley Stadium on consecutive weekends in 2020, the first time a team had done so. 2020 would also have been the final year of games at Wembley Stadium and the final year of the Jaguars' agreement to host annual home games there. On February 28, 2020, it was announced that the Arizona Cardinals would host a game in Mexico City. Their hosting was due to the awarding of Super Bowl LVII to State Farm Stadium in 2018. The Cardinals would have returned to Estadio Azteca for the first time since 2005's Fútbol Americano game. The date and opponent were not announced at the time. On May 4, 2020, the league announced that all international games for had been moved back to the designated home teams' home stadiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 1, 2021, the Atlanta Falcons announced their intention to play a home game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October 2021. On May 11, it was reported that the Falcons and Jaguars would each host a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This was confirmed the following day. This would mark the Jaguars' eighth home game in London but their first at Tottenham.