Roger Goodell hints at even more international games to come, whether fans want them or not

The final game of the 2024 NFL International Series kicked off in Week 10 as the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers squared off in Munich, Germany. The NFL has been steadily expanding its overseas presence since the first International Series game in 2007, upping its London experience to three games a year while also staging games in Frankfurt, Germany, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

While the idea of a team being permanently based in London or another European city is still far-fetched, the prospect of more regular season games being played outside of the United States is very much on the league's radar. In an era where it is hard to see how the NFL can make more significant gains domestically, commissioner Roger Goodell has focused his attention on spreading the NFL to more international territories.

Roger Goodell has hinted that more overseas games are coming

Despite the fact that the international series has proven unpopular with some football fans, Goodell is setting an even larger goal for international game participation. In an interview on NFL Network's pre-game coverage for Giants-Panthers, Goodell indicated that he is aiming to schedule eight international games for the 2025 season.

NFL.com's Mike Garafalo noted that the commissioner is planning for games in England, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Brazil and Mexico City. The 2024 slate featured three games in London, one in Sao Paulo and today's Munich game, so it appears as if those sites would carry over while Spain and Ireland would see their first games and Mexico City would return to the international rotation after sitting out this season due to ongoing renovations to Azteca Stadium.

Outside of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have a standing long-term agreement to play one game a season at Wembley Stadium in London, the host teams for the international games have been based on which conference is due to have nine home games in a given year. NFC teams were the hosts for the 2024 slate while AFC teams could draw the majority of the NFL's 2025 hosting duties, although an NFC team could always ask for hosting responsibilities if they feel it benefits them business-wise to get to an international market sooner.

Raising the number of international games also presents another money-making opportunity for the NFL, which has scheduled all of the European contests at 9:30 a.m. ET in order to create another broadcast window for football fans to get used to. Having an international package of eight games, which right now are primarily carried by NFL Network, would also give the NFL an opportunity to get another rights package sold and generate even more revenue for the biggest cash cow in sports.