Roger Goodell has signalled that the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia is the beginning of a long-term global expansion rather than a one-off spectacle, as the San Francisco 49ers prepare to face the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne.
The game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will kick off at 10.35am local time on Friday, September 11, corresponding to 8.35pm on Thursday, September 10 in the United States. It is the first NFL regular-season fixture to be staged in Australia.
Goodell, who recently agreed a contract extension running until March 2031, said the league must plan years ahead on international markets, media rights, labour relations and stadium development.
“Whether it’s media, or whether it’s labour, or whether it’s our international plans or what we’re doing with stadiums, all of that requires taking a five, 10, 15-year look,” the NFL commissioner said in an interview ahead of the Melbourne fixture. “If you’re not, you’re being irresponsible.”
The contest is part of a record nine-game international schedule for the 2026 season, spanning four continents and seven countries. France and Australia will host regular-season games for the first time, while the league will also return to Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The NFL’s owners have approved as many as 10 international games per season beyond 2026 under the current collective bargaining agreement, while Goodell has previously identified 16 overseas fixtures as a longer-term ambition.
That target would require agreement from the players’ union. The existing limit of 10 international games remains in place until the collective bargaining agreement expires in March 2031 — the same month Goodell’s current extension is due to end.
The NFL’s global expansion plans
Goodell also said he could envisage a future in which the NFL has one or more permanently based teams outside the United States, including the possibility of a European division. He declined to set a timetable, arguing that any franchise would form part of a wider commercial and sporting strategy.
“At some point in time, you may get to that place where you say, you know, putting a franchise or franchises globally is a good idea,” he said. “Maybe you do a division in Europe, so they’re playing against one another.”
The commissioner acknowledged that international travel can disrupt the routines players use to manage fitness and injury risk during a 17-game regular season. But he said modern players were increasingly comfortable building their profiles around the world and saw overseas fixtures as an opportunity to strengthen their personal brands.
The league is seeking to turn individual games into sustained local support through its Global Markets Programme. Teams receive marketing rights in selected countries, allowing them to develop partnerships, stage events and work with media organisations rather than simply arrive for a game and leave.
Australia is regarded as a significant market for the NFL, with the league estimating that it has about 6.6 million fans across the country. The Rams and Philadelphia Eagles hold marketing rights there, while the NFL has also established an Australia and New Zealand office, flag-football programmes and an Asia-Pacific academy.
Goodell said the league’s ambition was to build a presence that lasted beyond the Melbourne fixture. “You don’t want to be at the circus to come in and play a game and leave,” he said. “You want to have events and sponsors and media partners.”
The game will be broadcast globally by Netflix, forming part of the NFL’s wider push to use streaming platforms to expand its reach. The 49ers and Rams are scheduled to meet again in the international series in 2026, with San Francisco later travelling to Mexico City to face the Minnesota Vikings.
