The National Football League has revealed the teams that will help push its international ambitions into unprecedented territory after unveiling a record nine-game overseas slate for the 2026 season.

The overseas schedule was already known to stretch across four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums as commissioner Roger Goodell’s long-term vision of a truly global league accelerates, but now the final details have been applied as part of the league’s annual schedule reveal.

“The 2026 NFL season will feature our most expansive and ambitious international slate yet, with regular season games spanning Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, London, Paris, Madrid, Munich and Mexico City,” NFL executive vice-president for international, Peter O’Reilly, confirmed. “This year’s record-breaking schedule will see a host of world-class NFL franchises and star athletes play in some of the most iconic sporting venues in the world, underlying the league’s global growth vision and bringing our fans internationally closer to the game than ever before.”

The scale of the announcement reflects how aggressively the NFL has expanded beyond its traditional London foothold. What began with a single regular season game at Wembley in 2007 has evolved into an international circuit now stretching from the 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground to Maracanã Stadium, Stade de France and Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, as well as Munich’s Allianz Arena. Commissioner Roger Goodell has repeatedly spoken of eventually reaching 16 international games per season — effectively one every week to include every franchise every year — and 2026 represents another major step toward that objective.

The schedule opens in spectacular fashion on September 10th, when the San Francisco 49ers face NFC West rivals the Los Angeles Rams at the MCG in the NFL’s first-ever regular season game in Australia. Because of the time difference, the contest will kick off on Friday morning Melbourne time despite being scheduled for Thursday night in the United States. It also means that reigning champions Seattle look likely to start the defence of their crown on Wednesday night, with rumours strongly suggesting the Chicago Bears will be in opposition.

San Francisco effectively become the face of the 2026 international programme, as they also close the overseas slate in Mexico City against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11. The 49ers already possess one of the NFL’s strongest international footprints through the league’s Global Markets Programme, and particularly in Mexico, where owner Jed York has openly described the country as ‘one of our markets’.

Rio de Janeiro then enters the NFL map in Week 3 with a heavyweight meeting between the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys at the Maracanã. Brazil had already established itself as a viable NFL destination through games in São Paulo over the past two seasons, but the move to Rio places one of the league’s glamour franchises in one of world sport’s most recognisable venues.

London, meanwhile, remains the backbone of the international strategy. Three straight weeks of games in the British capital will take the total number of NFL regular season contests played in the UK since 2007 to 45. The first sees the Indianapolis Colts meet the Washington Commanders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct0ber 4th, before the Philadelphia Eagles face the Jacksonville Jaguars at the same venue a week later. Jacksonville then remain in London to take on the Houston Texans at Wembley Stadium on October 18th.

The Jaguars’ continuing role is notable as the franchise make its 16th appearance in London and, for the third time, will play back-to-back games in the capital during the same season. The arrangement has long fuelled speculation over whether Jacksonville could one day become a semi-permanent international franchise, especially with Wembley also rumoured to have been a consideration host additional Jaguars games during planned their stadium redevelopment work. The Jags have since confirmed that they will relocate to Orlando while the builders are in…

Paris represents the most symbolically important addition to the overseas schedule, with the Pittsburgh Steelers — who played the inaugural Dublin game last season — facing the New Orleans Saints at Stade de France on October 25th in France’s first-ever regular season encounter. The country has long been viewed as one of the NFL’s untapped European growth markets, particularly given the commercial success the league has already enjoyed in Germany and the UK. While the Saints have already established strong links with France, through both its own culture and an association with the EFA’s Paris Musketeers, the choice of Pittsburgh is also significant, as the Steelers possess one of the league’s most recognisable international brands and already hold marketing rights in Ireland and Germany.

Madrid will then host its second successive regular season game when the Atlanta Falcons meet the Cincinnati Bengals on November 8th. While the inaugural 2025 Madrid game leaned heavily on the star power of the Miami Dolphins, this year’s fixture still delivers one of the league’s marquee quarterbacks in Joe Burrow alongside Falcons running back Bijan Robinson. Spanish reports have suggested the NFL views Spain as one of its priority European growth territories, with estimates placing the country’s fanbase at roughly 11 million.

Germany’s place in the rotation continues after strong attendances and television numbers in Munich and Frankfurt over recent seasons. The New England Patriots will meet the Detroit Lions at Allianz Arena on November 15th, with the Lions selected partly because of receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s strong connection to Germany through his family background, although the Pats have been regular visitors to a country team owner Robert Kraft considers highly important to the brand.

The international programme concludes with the aforementioned game in Mexico City on November 22nd, marking the NFL’s return to the country for the first time since 2022, when the renamed Estadio Banorte — formerly Estadio Azteca — began restoration and improvement ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup. The venue is expected to once again become a regular part of the NFL calendar under a new multi-year agreement extending through at least 2028.

With Jacksonville and the Niners doubling up, 16 franchises — exactly half the league — will participate in overseas games this season, edging ever closer to Goodell’s dream of putting all 32 clubs on the international stage each year. The 2026 slate underlines how the NFL’s international operation has evolved from novelty into core business strategy. The league is no longer simply exporting occasional games, but building sustained regional ecosystems through marketing rights, local sponsorships, streaming partnerships, youth participation programmes and recurring annual events.