Germany loves the NFL — that much is clear.

The country will get to see live American football for a second straight season this fall, and German fans are already clamoring for a chance to watch the league’s top stars. Tickets for the Miami Dolphins-Kansas City Chiefs Nov. 5 game in Frankfurt reportedly sold out in 15 minutes when they went on sale this week. 

Vivid Seats told Front Office Sports that site traffic for the game spiked +753% from Monday to Tuesday. Right now, Dolphins-Chiefs has the second-most expensive average ticket price ($854) of the NFL season, behind the New England Patriots’ home opener honoring Tom Brady ($939).

The Patriots and Indianapolis Colts will play a second game at Frankfurt Stadium — home to Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt — on Nov. 12. Tickets for that game go on sale July 11, with the registration window already closed.

After a pandemic-influenced European hiatus, the NFL is back in full force with five international games this season. The Jacksonville Jaguars will play in two of the three London games this fall.

Earlier this year, one NFL team owner told FOS that they believe there will be an international division of teams in the future — and while the logistics of basing teams overseas seem difficult at best, Europe’s NFL fever is impossible to ignore.

After the 45-year-old Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Seattle Seahawks in Munich last year, fans stayed long after the final whistle at Allianz Arena, singing American classics like John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

Connor Bedard is officially a Chicago Blackhawk. 

The sensational young talent from Vancouver was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in Wednesday night’s 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville.

Bedard — who turns 18 in July — will be tasked with helping turn around a team that finished with the second-lowest point total in the league last year. 

With fans hoping to see a return to glory that included three Stanley Cups last decade, the Blackhawks sold more than $5 million in season tickets after winning the NHL Draft lottery — and thus the rights to Bedard — in May.

The maximum salary Bedard can earn during his rookie season is about $4.5 million, but he’s already finding other paydays. Ahead of the draft, he signed an apparel deal with Lululemon, the Canadian athleisure brand based in Bedard’s hometown.

While most hockey experts anticipate Bedard being ready for opening night at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 10, Blackhawk fans will have to wait until the second weekend of the season to see the rookie play at the United Center. The Blackhawks host the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in their home opener on Oct. 21.

Mark It Down

The NHL officially released its schedule this week ahead of the draft. 

Highlights include an opening night tripleheader on ESPN, Global Series games visiting Australia in the preseason and Sweden in November, two outdoor games at MetLife Stadium on consecutive days — and all 30 teams playing on Black Friday.

Excitement for next month’s FIFA Women’s World Cup continues to grow Down Under. 

Co-host Australia has already sold out its July 20 opening match against Ireland at the 80,000-seat Stadium Australia. Women’s World Cup CEO Dave Beeche said fellow co-host New Zealand’s opening match against Norway the same day is also expected to sell out at Auckland’s 40,000-capacity Eden Park.

Team USA will play twice in Auckland and once in Wellington during the group stage. Should the Americans advance to the knockout round, they could play at venues in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. 

Earlier this month, FIFA announced it had already sold more than 1 million tickets for the tournament — putting it on track to beat the attendance record set by Canada 2015.

Next Big Thing

Soccer officials in the host countries are clearly hoping to carry on surging momentum for the world’s game beyond this year via the potential for another major tournament.

Football Australia and New Zealand Football confirmed they are going to explore a joint bid for the 2029 Club World Cup — which will be the second refreshed iteration of a tournament that expands to 32 teams in 2025, when it will be played in the U.S.

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen — the man with the largest MLB team payroll ever — has hinted he’ll dismantle at least part of his record-setting roster at the upcoming Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Despite carrying a player outlay of $344 million, the Mets have floundered all season, sitting seven games below .500 and well out of a playoff spot entering Wednesday’s home game against Milwaukee. In a pregame press conference carried live on MLB.com, Twitter, and YouTube, Cohen called this season “terrible” and said large-scale roster changes could be forthcoming.

“It’s been incredibly frustrating,” Cohen said. “If we don’t get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline. It’s on the players.”

The Mets’ options could be limited, however, as six of the team’s seven highest-paid players have various forms of no-trade protection.

Cohen ruled out an immediate, full-scale house-cleaning and said manager Buck Showalter and GM Billy Eppler will remain in their jobs through at least this season. “Everybody wants me to fire this person, fire that person, but I don’t see that as a way to operate,” Cohen said. “If you want to attract good people to this organization, the worst thing you can do is be impulsive.”

The Mets are still looking for separate presidents to oversee the team’s business and baseball operations.

The owner’s tone resembled his publicly measured crosstown counterpart, Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, who recently showed support for an MLB salary cap and floor.