NFL Eyes 2 Additional International Games on 2026 Schedule, Targeting 16 Annually

The NFL could add two more league-organized international games to its schedule as soon as next season.

“We have seven [international] games this year, and six of those are league-organized, and we do believe next year there will be more than that,” NFL senior vice president and managing director international Gerrit Meier told reporters Tuesday. “Whether that leads to the maximum of eight league-organized games or not, we will see, but the definite idea is to get ourselves more to the maximum.”

The league can hold up to eight international games currently, with the Jacksonville Jaguars permitted to hold up to two London games per season on top of that (thus far, the team has held one annual London game). Any more international contests per season would need approval from the NFL Players Association, with the league targeting 16 international games eventually, per Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal.

This season, the NFL is holding three international games in the United Kingdom and one each in Ireland, Germany, Spain and Brazil. Next season, games in Australia, Mexico City and Brazil are already on the docket, and it’s likely that the NFL will keep contests in the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia and a “number of other countries have also expressed interest” in hosting games, per Fischer.

The NFL currently has marketing deals with 21 countries, he added, though Saudi Arabia isn’t one of them.

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