NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Commissioner Roger Goodell said that the NFL could host a Super Bowl outside of the United States if it expands to have an international team. The American football league has made a great effort to expand its presence worldwide with games in England, Germany, Mexico, and Brazil in recent years, and Spain will join as a new country in 2025.
So far, the Super Bowls have been exclusively played in NFL stadiums and the league has the policy of assigning the organization of the event only to cities with a professional team.
"I believe there is potential for us to have an international franchise someday. If that happens, I would not be surprised at all if a Super Bowl follows and is played there," said Goodell on Monday in New Orleans at the traditional press conference with accredited media for the NFL's grand final.
What international city could host a Super Bowl?
London is, by far, the NFL's favorite city for its international games and has already played almost 40 games in the British capital since 2007, split between Wembley and the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Therefore, on more than one occasion, there has been speculation about the Jaguars moving from Jacksonville to London. Since 2013, the franchise has played at least one game of the season in the English capital -except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic- and the owner Shahid Khan is also the owner of Fulham, a Premier League football team that has a charming stadium next to the River Thames.
However, a Super Bowl outside of North America would present challenges in terms of time zones as it would require the game to be broadcasted during lunchtime in the United States.
Mexico is where the NFL has the largest number of fans worldwide, but the game in the capital is not yet consolidated and has not been played there since 2022 due to repairs at the Azteca Stadium for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Is the 18-game season coming up?
Before a franchise and a Super Bowl outside of the United States arrive, the 18-game regular season will come. According to specialized journalists, it only remains to define in which year it will begin.
Commissioner Goodell still seemed to downplay the urgency of changing the schedule by saying that there is still "a lot of work to be done."
Goodell commented that the league has not had formal negotiations with the players' union about adding a game to the regular season, but he did acknowledge that they have had informal discussions with the NFLPA executive director, Lloyd Howell Jr.
The NFL added a 17th game and reduced the preseason from four to three games in 2021, and Goodell has made it clear that they are interested in eventually adding another regular-season game.
"If we do it, 18 and 2 could be a possibility," he said. "We know that fans love football and want more football. But we have to be incredibly sensitive and smart about the balance and how we handle that."
Another regular season game would force the Super Bowl to be postponed until the third Sunday of February, impacting other major sporting events such as the Daytona 500 NASCAR race and the NBA All-Star Game.