NFL Could Be Marching Toward 8-Game European Schedule

The NFL is already delivering on its promise to expand its European footprint.

London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is now guaranteed to host at least two regular-season games — and potentially more — each year through the end of this decade.

The venue is the only one outside the U.S. built for specific NFL use and has hosted six regular-season games since 2019. 

This season, Tottenham is hosting two more games, and a third is being played at Wembley Stadium, which will host the Jacksonville Jaguars once per season through 2024. Germany will host another two NFL contests for a total of five games in its International Series this fall.

“We expect to do more games in the future,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said last week when asked about international matchups. “We’re looking at games around the world.”

Build It, And They Will Come?

The idea of an NFL team — or even division — based in Europe has long been rumored. But the NFL’s record five games on the continent this season is still several short of what would be an eight- or nine-game home schedule for a theoretical European squad. 

Last week, Goodell wouldn’t shoot down the idea of a European team, while acknowledging the logistical challenges associated with the idea.

Should the NFL one day expand to eight-plus games in Europe per season, perhaps that would be enough evidence that fans across the pond would support a full-time franchise — and possibly the aforementioned European division.