If (Or When) The NFL Goes International, Which 5 Cities Seem Most Likely To Land A Team?

The NFL’s global footprint continues to expand every year, and what was once a novelty is now up to nine games played outside the United States on four different continents. The 2026 lineup hosting NFL games — London, Paris, Madrid, Munich, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City — is just another step as the league envisions a 16-game international lineup that has every team playing a game every year. So it’s no surprise that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, during an interview with a German television station last week, said he has “no doubt” the league will eventually have teams entirely based in other countries. “At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA,” Goodell said. “I have no doubt that this will happen one day.” Having an international game in that 9:30 a.m. ET window — an afternoon kickoff in Europe — makes for an entire day of live football, allowing fans to go from that to the afternoon slots to prime time, with literally 14 hours of nonstop football if you want. The logistics of travel have been ironed out well enough that an overseas game isn’t the scheduling hurdle it used to be, and teams playing an international game don’t always choose a bye week afterward, able to recover and be back for a regular Sunday the next week. So if the NFL were to import a team to another country full-time, where might it be? The league is in a good place at 32 teams, with a proven scheduling model and playoff structure and teams in all the U.S. markets they want. At some point, it could even expand to have an international division — with four teams, visiting opponents could be scheduled for back-to-back games overseas to lessen the impact of long travel. There’s talk that aviation technology will soon reduce the time required for trans-Atlantic flight, making it even less of an obstacle for teams during the season. Here are five potential landing spots for the NFL’s first international team, with one clear and obvious favorite … 5. Toronto The Buffalo Bills have played games in Toronto, which is just 100 miles or so from Buffalo, and played regular-season games there every year from 2008-13. So, if you wanted a half-measure to officially expand the United States without the travel headaches of crossing the Atlantic, the NFL could look at Toronto, which has supported MLB and NBA franchises for decades. The last Bills games there weren’t at full capacity in the Rogers Centre, and the Toronto Argonauts had the lowest attendance in the CFL for the ninth straight year in 2025, averaging about 15,000 fans. Mexico City has hosted games in the past, but that too would be an unlikely spot for a full-time team. 4. Madrid Spain joined the NFL’s global family last year when the Washington Commanders and Miami Dolphins drew a crowd of 78,610, earning a return trip this year for the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons in November. The league also agreed to a multi-year partnership with the City of Madrid in February, signaling that there will continue to be games held in Spain’s capital in the coming years. The World League of American Football and NFL Europe had teams in Barcelona, but Madrid is twice as large as Barcelona and the more likely host if the league were to look at a new home in Spain. Bernabéu Stadium, home to soccer’s FC Madrid, is a natural home for such a major event. 3. Paris Metropolitan Paris has about 13 million people, so in terms of filling a stadium on a consistent basis, it’s not far from London or New York, though the NFL in Paris is a fairly new development. The New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers will play at Stade de France in October with a capacity of 80,000-plus, so a successful debut there should put them in the annual rotation and open up a new country to the NFL’s future plans. The Saints, with their fleur-de-lis logo and French Quarter, have a natural connection to Paris, but it’s too early to know how well the city would support the NFL on a more regular or even permanent basis. 2. Munich Frankly, we could’ve also picked Berlin as the city to represent Germany on this list. But a German city should be pretty high up here. Germany will host an NFL game for the fifth straight season in 2026, when the New England Patriots take on the Detroit Lions in Munich. It’ll be the third game played in Munich, and there’s another one scheduled at Allianz Arena for 2028. Berlin hosted its first game in 2025 and it’s scheduled to host two more games in the coming seasons, while Frankfurt has hosted two NFL games. But Germany has a history with the NFL dating back to 1990. There’s a strong, passionate backing for the NFL in Germany — you’ll hear the crowd singing “Sweet Caroline” and “Country Roads” during a game and knowing every single word in a language most of them don’t speak. Could an NFL team exist in Germany and split home games between multiple cities, supporting it as a nation rather than one single locale? If the league ever expanded to have a full four-team European division, this would make sense. A full-time team would almost need to be in Europe, logistically. The league adds Melbourne this year and could eventually have games in Tokyo, but the travel demands are much greater there — a direct flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne is 15 hours, compared to eight hours for New York to London or Berlin. 1. London London has a long head start on most other international options — this goes back to the American Bowl in the 1980s, when preseason games were the NFL’s first outreach to expand their fanbase globally. Wembley Stadium was a regular host for these games and still does so 40 years later, so fans in London have been supporting NFL football in person for all of their lives in many cases. London’s hosting expanded from Wembley to include other venues like what was then Twickenham Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, rugby and soccer stadiums adjusted for NFL football. In theory, a full-time NFL team could build a new football-focused venue as a new home, subletting it to soccer during the rest of the year instead of the other way around. London has no language barrier, easy and direct flights from major U.S. cities and a built-in base of fans that have filled stadiums for multiple NFL games a year, something no other city can boast. The time difference is an hour less than most of Europe’s major cities, and the longstanding relationship with the NFL makes London a heavy favorite for any international expansion.