The NFL didn’t always have a passport. It first stepped overseas in 1976, in Tokyo, of all places, for a preseason game between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers. But it wasn’t until decades later that football started flirting with a global fanbase. In 2005, the league officially crossed the border for a regular-season game for the first time. The Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers faced off at Mexico’s Estadio Azteca on October 5. Then, in 2007, the league tried London. Big lights, full crowd, lots of tea -London loved it. Since then, NFL Sundays across the pond have become a thing. And now? Well, the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell might be plotting something much bigger.
London has long been a regular host for NFL games, with fans packing Wembley and Tottenham like it’s a hometown tradition. But now it might be the place to hold the biggest game of them all. The Super Bowl might just be eyeing a passport. On Sunday, Barstool Sports dropped a teaser of their conversation with ESPN reporter Peter Schrager. In the video, Schrager dropped some interesting insights about Roger Goodell’s international Super Bowl plans. While Schrager did not confirm the possibility of a Super Bowl in London, at least in the next two or three years, he mentioned that it’s in the conversation.
Interestingly, it’s not just London that Commissioner Goodell is thinking about taking the NFL to. The league has also been to Germany and Brazil. Seeing the success, Goodell reportedly wants to take the NFL to Asian countries as well. “What he said, which was wild, is he’s like, ‘You know, we’re thinking about going to Asia. And I’m like, okay,”‘ Schrager said. “What they do is they show up in the city, and then it’s like, it’s a two-week event. There’s flag football, all these things, it’s almost like a traveling road show. I do think he means it. And that was a real report,” he added.
So, with America’s favorite league aiming to grow even more globally, it’s pretty clear Goodell is thinking bigger than ever. And his plans might just take us back to the format we had before 2021.
Is Roger Goodell bringing back the NFL’s old format?
In 2021, after almost 43 years, the NFL changed its 16-game format. After the franchise owners voted in favor of expanding the regular season, the league changed its format to a 17-game slate. “This is a monumental moment in NFL history. The CBA with the players and the recently completed media agreements provide the foundation for us to enhance the quality of the NFL experience for our fans,” said Roger Goodell at that time. “And one of the benefits of each team playing 17 regular-season games is the ability for us to continue to grow our game around the world,” he added.
Peter Schrager hints that now the league might go back to the 16-game format. “And he (Roger Goodell) said it, that, you know, 16 games is not off the table, and that they figured it out scheduling-wise.” But Goodell and the league cannot go back to the 16-game format before 2031. Once the current CBA (NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement) expires, we might see a shift back to the 16-game slate.
“And as for London, I can’t say there’s going to be a Super Bowl there. But guess what? If they have 16 games internationally, and London becomes a market where there are multiple games a year, it’s certainly gonna be in the conversation, especially with the popularity in the stadiums,” added the ESPN reporter.
Last year, there were reports that the league wants to expand to an 18-game schedule. Now, whether it will be an 18-game, 17-game, or 16-game schedule in 2032 remains to be seen. And likewise for the London Super Bowl plans. The next three Super Bowls are already scheduled in the USA: San Francisco in 2026, followed by Los Angeles and Atlanta in the following years.
Well, with all eyes on the future, it looks like the NFL’s international ambitions and its game schedule are about to get a lot more interesting.
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