LONDON (AP) — The NFL will play a record nine games internationally this season and they include three cities hosting for the first time: Melbourne, Australia; Rio de Janeiro; and Paris.
Jacksonville and San Francisco both play two games abroad: the Jaguars back-to-back in London; the 49ers in Melbourne and later in Mexico City.
Here’s some handy information about the games and locations.
Talk about pushing boundaries. The Los Angeles Rams face the San
Francisco 49ers in a game at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The league has never staged a regular-season game so far from home. It’s a nearly 16-hour flight from the West Coast. The NFL West matchup will kick off at 10:35 a.m. local time Friday, Sept. 11, in Melbourne — which will be 8:35 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, on the U.S. East Coast.
The 100,000-capacity stadium, known as “The G,” is the largest on the NFL schedule this season. Aussies call American football “gridiron” so as not to confuse it with Australian Rules Football. Visitors might want to look up Shane Warne to get a flavor of Australian cricket history.
“America’s Team” is coming to the famed Maracanã Stadium on Sept. 27. The Dallas Cowboys will play just their second-ever regular-season international game when they face the Baltimore Ravens. In 2014, the Cowboys beat the Jaguars 31-17 at Wembley Stadium.
Rio is hosting for the first time and has what looks like a good QB matchup: Dak Prescott vs. Lamar Jackson. The league has committed to playing at least three regular-season games in Rio over the next five years. There have been two previous games in Brazil — both in Sao Paulo.
Dallas to Rio is an estimated 10-hour flight.
The Maracanã has staged two men’s World Cup finals — in 1950 and 2014. It was also the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
London has been a mainstay for the NFL since 2007. Forty-two of the 62 regular-season games played internationally so far have been staged in London. Three more are on tap this season.
The first two will be at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: Indianapolis vs. Washington on Oct. 4; and Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville on Oct. 11.
The Jags pull double duty by staying to face the Houston Texans on Oct. 18 at Wembley Stadium — and by doing so will become the first team to play two home games abroad in the same season. The Jags, who have a 7-7 record in London games, are undergoing stadium renovations at home.
Washington’s only other trip to London ended in a 27-27 tie — or a “draw” as the locals would call it — with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will look to make his international debut after missing last year’s Madrid game because of injury.
The NFL finally makes it to the City of Light. Practices in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower perhaps?
The New Orleans Saints have the French connections and the Pittsburgh Steelers have the star quarterback — Aaron Rodgers — for the first regular-season game in Paris. The 42-year-old Rodgers headlined Dublin’s debut as a host city last season and figures to be in the spotlight at Stade de France on Oct. 25.
The 80,000-seat stadium, located just north of the capital in Saint-Denis, was the centerpiece of the 2024 Paris Olympics — Tom Cruise descended from the roof during the closing ceremony. It opened in 1998, when it hosted the FIFA World Cup final — France beat Brazil 3-0.
Joe Burrow goes international for the first time — as a player anyway. The Bengals quarterback was a hit at Vogue World 2024 in Paris.
He's set to make his international debut at Bernabeu Stadium when Cincinnati faces the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 8. It will be Cincinnati’s first game outside the U.S. since a 24-10 loss to the Rams in London in 2019 in Zac Taylor’s first season as head coach. The Falcons lost to the Colts in Berlin last season.
The 83,186-capacity Bernabeu is home to Real Madrid soccer club — one of the most recognized sporting brands in the world. Real Madrid's soccer team has more Instagram followers — 180 million — than the combined total of all 32 NFL teams.
Last year, Bernabeu hosted Spain’s first regular-season game when the Miami Dolphins, led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, beat the Washington Commanders 16-13 in overtime. Tagovailoa has since joined the Falcons.
The Patriots-Lions matchup in Bavaria looks promising. New England reached the Super Bowl last season but the big draw will be a homecoming for Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. The star's mother was born in Germany and he has a big following among the NFL’s large German fan base.
The Nov. 15 game at Bayern Munich’s home stadium will be the third NFL game in Munich. The first one, in 2022, was Germany’s first regular-season NFL game and Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past the Seattle Seahawks 21-16. Days earlier, Brady had been gifted lederhosen. The crowd sang ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ — and the seven-time Super Bowl champion called it “one of the great football experiences that I’ve ever had.”
Note to visiting fans, if you enjoy downing pre-game beers, probably best to bring some with you on the train ride to the stadium. Seahawks fans complained no alcohol was served by vendors outside the venue.
The NFL returns to Mexico City for the first time since 2022 for a matchup between the 49ers and Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 22.
Azteca Stadium, which has been renamed Banorte, hosted the very first regular-season game played outside the U.S. when the Arizona Cardinals beat San Francisco 31-14 in 2005 before a crowd of 103,467. (A Cowboys-Giants regular-season game in 2009 eclipsed 105,000). The first play from scrimmage was a wild one — a strip-sack that resulted in a touchdown.
Four years ago, the 49ers were prepared for the high altitude and beat the Cardinals 38-10. Azteca then underwent renovations for the 2026 World Cup and its current capacity is 87,523.
The Vikings played in Dublin and London in consecutive weeks last season and are 5-1 overall in regular-season international games.
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