While the NFL has been incredibly popular in the United States for many years, the league has prioritized globalization in an effort to expand the sport’s popularity abroad.
Enter the International Series.
During the 2024 season, there are five international games on the schedule, including three contests in London.
Last week, the Minnesota Vikings defeated the New York Jets, 23-17, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The next overseas game is this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears in London. The final London game of this season will be next weekend when the New England Patriots face the Jaguars.
With the exception of 2020, every NFL season since 2007 has featured at least one London showdown. Why does the NFL play games in London, and what is the league’s long-term goal with the International Series?
The Origin of NFL Games in London
While the International Series as we know it was created in 2007, the league started playing games overseas many years earlier, including multiple games in London back in the 1980s.
Between 1950 and 1983, 13 games involving NFL or AFL teams were played outside of the United States; seven of those games were against CFL teams in Canada. Three other games were also played in Canada — one in Toronto, two in Montreal — but they were against fellow NFL teams rather than outside opponents. The final three games were played in Tokyo in 1976, Mexico City in 1978, and London in 1983.
In 1986, the NFL launched the American Bowl, an annual preseason game that was held outside of the United States. The first-ever American Bowl was played in London on Aug. 3, 1986. Over the years, games were played in Japan, Canada, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Ireland, and Australia.
However, after the 2005 exhibition game between the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts in Tokyo, the NFL decided to abandon the American Bowl.
At the same time, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the end of NFL Europa, the league formerly known as the World League of American Football and NFL Europe. The final season of NFL Europa took place in 2007 — the same year the NFL started the International Series, which featured annual regular-season games in London.
Initially, the belief was that the NFL was assessing whether it made sense to give London its own NFL franchise and examine how a UK-based team could work logistically. In recent years, the NFL expanded its International Series to five overseas games being played during the 2024 season, including three in London.
Someday, we might even see London host the Super Bowl, which is something Goodell and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have discussed.
The NFL’s International Series Isn’t Going Anywhere
The International Series has been a huge success in terms of growing the sport abroad. Not only is it here to stay, but it is only going to expand. The NFL could increase the number of overseas games and expand to new countries.
The NFL has committed to holding at least four international games every season, with each of the 32 teams hosting at least one game over an eight-year cycle.
In 2022, the NFL launched its Global Markets Program, which is designed to “build brand awareness and fandom beyond the US through fan engagement, events, and commercial opportunities.” Twenty-five NFL clubs are now associated with 19 international markets (some teams are involved in more than one market).
MORE: 5 Countries To Watch as NFL Looks to Add More International Games
The league is planning a 2025 regular-season game in Spain. Also, the NFL confirmed that it is considering Australia for an international contest as well.
Rather than zeroing in on London, it seems the NFL wants to continue hosting games all over the world in order to expand the sport’s popularity in as many countries as possible.
Which NFL Games Will Be in London This Season?
There are three London games on the 2024 schedule:
Week 5: Minnesota Vikings defeated New York Jets, 23-17
Week 6: Chicago Bears vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 7: New England Patriots vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
And there are two other International Series contests in Brazil and Germany.
In Week 1, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo, 34-29, to kick off the 2024 slate of international action, and the game absolutely lived up to the hype (minus the injuries).
In Week 10, the final overseas game of this season will be held in Munich, with the New York Giants facing off against the Carolina Panthers.
Will London Eventually Have an NFL Team?
It seems increasingly unlikely that the NFL will move a franchise to London. When the NFL expanded the number of International Series games from one to four between 2012 and 2017, it was believed to be a test of whether London could host as many as eight games in a single season.
The NFL has utilized three stadiums in London, with the majority having been played at Wembley Stadium. However, Twickenham Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have also hosted a handful of contests.
Recently, the NFL signed a multi-year agreement with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to make it the official home of the NFL in the United Kingdom. This agreement states that the NFL will play at least two games each season at the stadium through the 2029–2030 NFL campaign, so don’t expect the London games to go away anytime soon.
The NFL is headed to London this weekend, and the field they are playing on (Tottenham's stadium) is an engineering masterpiece 🤯 pic.twitter.com/PvtjGvt709
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 29, 2022
Entering this season, there were seven NFL games played at Tottenham Stadium, with an average attendance of 60,694 fans and an average of 49.3 points scored, so these contests have been a huge success.
With the launch of the international marketing areas, the league’s return to Mexico, and an emphasis on hosting International Series games in new countries, the NFL seems more interested in growing its global footprint than establishing a franchise on a different continent.
With that said, anything remains possible for this continually growing operation. Flights from New York City to London take only about an hour longer than flights from New York City to Los Angeles, so it’s certainly possible from a travel standpoint.
But the NFL hasn’t added a franchise in 21 years. In some respects, it’s achieved nice symmetry across eight equally sized divisions. Yet, in other respects — and based on what we’ve seen historically — the NFL isn’t shy about going big.