Caleb Harris
O NFL the international presence has been expanding in recent years and that expansion could soon include placing a game in Australia.
According to for 9News in Melbournethe NFL is considering the possibility of scheduling a regular season game in Australia and this could happen as early as the 2025 season or late in the 2026 season. It is not entirely clear where the game will be held, but a stadium in Melbourne – the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) – was already had initial discussions with the NFL.
If a game is moved to Australia, it appears the Los Angeles Rams would be in charge to serve as the home team, which makes sense because they currently hold exclusive international marketing rights for the country. As part of the NFL’s global marketing program, the Rams were received Australian rights in December 2021 and they have those rights secured until January 1, 2027, so it makes sense that the team would want to play a game Down Under before possibly losing the exclusive rights.
To go back in February 2022Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said he would love to see the team play in Australia.
“I would love to play a game there at some point; whether it’s an exhibition game, or a training camp, or if the NFL decides to put a (regular season) game there, I think we would be the first ones to put our hand up and try to do that,” Demoff said.
Although the logistics were complicated, it would not be impossible. There is a 14-hour time difference between Melbourne/Sydney and the US Eastern Time Zone, which isn’t ideal, but the NFL could certainly work around that. If the game started at noon on Monday in Melbourne, it would be 9pm ET in the United States. The NFL could move the game into Week 1 and play it on Thursday or Friday, so both teams have plenty of time to travel back and readjust to the weather in the United States. If the NFL decided to put the game after Week 1, both teams playing would likely need a bye after playing Down Under. Either way, it would almost certainly start in the afternoon in Australia so it could be shown in prime time in the US.
This is not the first time that the NFL has considered holding a game in Australia. In 2016, the league I briefly considered putting the 2017 Pro Bowl in Sydney. Additionally, the NFL played a preseason game in Australia in 1999, with the Broncos defeating the Chargers 20-17 in Sydney.
The NFL is also preparing to open an international academy in Australia. As part of the league’s International Player Pathway program, the NFL has had an academy in England since 2019, and there will soon be two academies following the the second opens on Australia’s Gold Coast In September.
The NFL’s international series has been expanding at a breakneck pace in recent years. From 2007 to 2021, the NFL held games in London, Mexico City and Toronto. The NFL has already doubled that international total since 2022, adding games in Germany (Frankfurt and Munich), Brazil (São Paulo) and Spain (Madrid). The game in Brazil will take place in September with the Eagles hosting the Packers while the game in Madrid will be played in 2025.
As international expansion continues, don’t expect it to slow down, and that’s because the NFL is expected to have up to nine international games starting in the 2025 season. Thank you to a rule that owners approved in December, all teams will be required to host an international game at least once every four years. This rule will come into force in 2025 and when that happens the number of international matches will increase dramatically.
