SAN JOSE — The NFL’s record-setting international plans for 2026 took yet another historic step forward late Monday as the league unveiled its plan to return to Mexico next season.
Mere hours after plans were unveiled to head back to Spain and play for the first time in France, the NFL unveiled a deal to play in Mexico City not just in 2026, but in the subsequent two seasons as well.
The league will play at Estadio Banorte, which is the home of Club América of Liga MX, as well as the Mexico national soccer team, and will also have FIFA World Cup matches this summer. The NFL was last in Mexico in 2022, and an estimated fan base there for the league of 40 million people is its largest outside of the U.S.
The upcoming game will be in December, toward the end of the 2026 regular season.
“This is wonderful, not only for our fans in Mexico, and will be a chance to get back there,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell late Monday during his annual state-of-the-league address to begin Super Bowl week. “This is about our ambition to be a global sport, but also the demand that we’re having, what we’re hearing from cities all over the world that want to host these games.”
With the addition of the Mexico game, the NFL is now committed to an unprecedented nine international games in the upcoming season—two more than the seven played in 2025 that had been the league record.
Beyond Mexico, Spain, and France, the NFL will also play next season in Brazil, Australia, Germany, and another three times in England.
The continual expansion of the NFL’s non-U.S. profile pushes the league closer to a full season of international games, which has long been its goal.
“I’ve said many times that I want to see 16 games so that every team is playing a regular season internationally every season,” Goodell said. “I think that’s an important mark for us to go for. I think we’re well on our way.”
