The Super Bowl concluded last week, yet preparations for the 2026 NFL season are already underway.
In the days preceding the game on Feb. 8, the NFL revealed that Paris, Melbourne, and Rio de Janeiro would host regular-season games for the first time as part of a record nine international games next season — two more than the previous year.
“Over the past three or four years, as we’ve begun to increase the number of games outside of the U.S., we’ve really focused in the last three years, and 2025 was the year we highlighted,” stated Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive vice president for international and league events.
The NFL International Series
The NFL’s International Series launched in its current format in 2007, beginning with the inaugural London game at Wembley Stadium. For the following five years, only one game per season was held in London, as many owners were hesitant about losing revenue from home games in a market dominated by the Premier League.
Now, nearly 20 years later, discussions are ongoing regarding the league extending the season to accommodate more international games.
“The potential for an 18-game schedule necessitates further work — it requires aligning and negotiating with the players’ union — but the opportunity to bring additional regular-season football and, consequently, to expand beyond the current number of international games, is something we’re definitely contemplating,” O’Reilly mentioned.
Each of the NFL’s 32 teams has participated in a regular-season game outside the United States and is affiliated with the league’s Global Markets Program.
Initiated in January 2022, the program grants teams international marketing rights to enhance their brand reputation and explore partnerships and commercial prospects.
Teams with geographical, cultural, or historical connections to a nation are frequently awarded rights in those regions. For example, the Arizona Cardinals hold rights in nearby Mexico; the Miami Dolphins, backed by a large Hispanic and Latino community, possess rights in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Spain; and the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose owners have historical ties to Ireland, were granted rights there in 2023.
Ireland, the Steelers and the Rooney connection
The Rooney family, the Steelers’ principal owners, trace their heritage back to Ireland, where their ancestors immigrated from in the 1840s before ultimately settling in Pittsburgh. Art Rooney established the team in 1933, and those connections have remained robust through charity, cultural ties, and politics — including Art’s son, Dan Rooney, acting as U.S. ambassador to Ireland in 2009.
“The Rooneys and the Pittsburgh Steelers are returning home, literally, and that’s a wonderful thing,” said Patrick O’Donovan, Ireland’s minister for culture, tourism, and sport.
“One of my first actions after becoming minister for culture, communications, and sport was to agree to the government’s involvement in bringing the NFL to Dublin for the first time. Thus, it is a collaboration between the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Gaelic Athletic Association, and the Irish government,” he stated.
The Irish government views the connection between the Rooney family and the Steelers as a valuable opportunity. As part of the agreement to host the game, officials allocated 10 million euros ($11.9 million) in public funding — half as a licensing fee paid to the NFL and the other half for transportation, security, and venue logistics.
However, according to Fáilte Ireland, the nation’s tourism development authority, the event produced an estimated 64 million euros in additional economic impact.
A major TV win
The Dublin game also proved to be a significant triumph in terms of television ratings. It stood as the second most-viewed NFL Network international game on record, attracting 7.9 million viewers in the U.S. — a 68% increase from the 2024 international-game average.
“It’s really less about the financial aspects surrounding the game itself. Clearly, these matches are profitable, but we perceive them as a pebble drop — when you drop a pebble, it creates ripples that extend far beyond the game itself,” O’Reilly explained.
As the NFL’s international goals expand, so too do those of other prominent sports leagues. The NBA has conducted several regular-season games outside the United States, and various competitive soccer matches took place beyond their local markets in 2025. Should financial returns remain strong, more are anticipated to follow.
