For the 17th straight non-COVID-impacted season, the 2024 NFL international games will look to build on a growing international audience. The NFL International Series kicked off in 2007 with the Miami Dolphins losing to the New York Giants in London. With that game, the NFL has played 36 games in the United Kingdom. In addition, the NFL has branched out and sent games to Mexico City, Mexico (four games) and Munich, Germany (three games).
In the waning weeks of the 2023-24 season, the NFL announced it would play four games overseas. Three of those games will be in London and the fourth will be in Munich. Additionally, the NFL will be heading to Sao Paolo, Brazil. Fans in participating states back home will be able to gamble online with NetBet on these five games. However, it’s always interesting to see how teams respond to the travel and time differences.
The NFL is planning on upping the number of international games in 2025 from five in 2024 to eight.
Locations for the 2024 NFL International Games
London, UK
The primary home away from home for the NFL over the years has been London. To date, the NFL has played 36 games and was slated to do so again prior to the 2020 season but, obviously, the NFL did not play internationally due to the world-wide COVID pandemic.
Those 36 games breaks down as 25 at Wembley Stadium, eight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and three at Twickenham Stadium. Heading into the year, the Jacksonville Jaguars lead the way with 11 games in London. The Jaguars actually play at least one game in London due to their agreement with the NFL. They were initially scheduled to play two games at Wembley in 2020 that were later, essentially, moved to 2023 as they played back-to-back in Week 4 and Week 5.
In total, every NFL team has played at least one game in London with the Miami Dolphins coming in second with five appearances.
In 2024, Packers rivals the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings will join the Jaguars as three of the six participants in NFL London. The Bears and Vikings will play their games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium whereas the Jaguars will play another game at Wembley.
The NFL continues to build its presence across the pond and the feeling that it will eventually field a London-based NFL team will not go away. London was an easy choice among 2024 NFL international games.
Munich, Germany
For the fourth time in the NFL International Series, there will be a game in Munich, Germany. In 2024, it’ll be the Carolina Panthers giving up a home game to play in the home of FC Bayern Munich, one of the premier soccer clubs in Europe.
To date, no team has played more than one game in Germany. The Seattle Seahawks (2021), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2021), Miami Dolphins (2023), Kansas City Chiefs (2023), Indianapolis Colts (2023), and New England Patriots (2023) have all played in Munich.
The inclusion of Munich was a recent decision. They had to deal with logistical issues for years and were able to finally get them resolved over the last few years. The NFL is committed to playing at least one game per year through the 2027 season in Germany where there will be games played in both Munich and Dusseldorf. Munich is a great addition to the 2024 NFL International Games list.
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Now, it’s time for a little history. For the first time in NFL history, the league will play a game in South American as two currently unknown teams will face off in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Instead of staying in Europe and playing in Madrid, Spain, the NFL elected to go south. However, don’t count out Madrid in 2025.
Regardless of when the game will be played, the NFL won’t have to worry too much about super early games as they have with London. During the strictly-American Daylight Saving Time, Brazil is an hour ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. During Standard Time, they are two hours ahead. However, the NFL has been looking at locking up the 9:30 A.M. window to emulate the Premier League and its American popularity.
Evidently, there is a solid NFL fanbase in Brazil. The league estimates around 38 million fans in the South American country.
The Sao Paulo game will be at famed Arena Corinthians, an over 47,000-seat stadium that hosted 14 matches in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. For that World Cup, the stadium added nearly 11,000 seats.
With the expansion of the regular season to 17 games along with the fact that each NFL team will play at least one international game each four years, Brazil will likely host an NFL game moving forward. The interest is there and the fans are just as passionate as any international market. To some, Brazil was a surprise addition to the 2024 NFL international games list.
