The National Football League has long had an interest in expanding beyond its U.S. roots, mostly notably with the NFL Europe league that lasted 16 years before disbanding in 2007. Since then, the NFL has shifted its strategy, deciding to host regular season games on a one-off basis in other countries.
On Friday, the league will have its first game in South America when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers open their seasons in Sao Paulo, Brazil. With 36 million NFL fans in Brazil, the country ranks only behind Mexico and Canada in terms of the largest international fan bases, according to Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive vice president of club business, international and league events.
Even before Friday’s game, the NFL had a presence in Brazil for years. It has held Super Bowl watch parties in the country and sponsored flag football leagues. The NFL also airs games on free-to-air television, ESPN Brazil and CazeTV, a streaming platform. Brazilian fans will be able to watch the Eagles-Packers game on all three of those options.
NFL International Plans
The NFL plans on opening an office soon in Brazil, as well, adding to offices it has in Canada, Mexico, London, Germany, Australia and China. The league recently promoted Luis Martinez to the newly created position of NFL Brazil’s general manager.
This season, the NFL will hold five games abroad, including three in London (two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium) and one at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. Next year, it will host its first game in Spain at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, home of the famed Real Madrid soccer club.
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In December, the league’s owners passed a resolution requiring teams to play an international game every four years starting next season, meaning there could be eight international games in 2025.
“The fundamental strategy is really a focus on becoming a true global sports property and growing the game and the fan base around the world,” O’Reilly said. “We’ve seen when we've gone to a market with a game like Germany a few years ago, where we've committed to play, you've seen the demand, the passion and then the impact.”
He added: “Games are not necessarily an end to themselves. It's not about coming in and just playing a game. It's about connecting year-round in that community and in that country.”
The international expansion seems to be working, at least from a fan interest perspective. This year, buyers from outside of the U.S. have purchased 41% more NFL tickets on Stubhub and Viagogo than at this point last year. Viagogo acquired Stubhub for more than $4 billion in 2020, combining two of the world’s leading ticket resale platforms.
International Fandom
People from outside the U.S. have purchased 8% of NFL tickets on Stubhub and Viagogo, up from 4% last year. Meanwhile, this year’s five international games have sold 35% more tickets on Stubhub and Viagogo than last year’s five international games that were held in Germany and London. The Eagles-Packers game in Brazil ranks only behind the New York Giants-Carolina Panthers game in Munich on Nov. 10 in terms of tickets sold on Stubhub and Viagogo for the international games.
Adam Budelli, who works in Stubhub’s partnerships and business development group, said the platform has seen a similar rise in demand for international NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball events since the coronavirus pandemic ended.
“We all might have taken (live events) for granted,” Budelli said. “We’ve continued to see this increase in people wanting to experience live events across the globe together with friends, family and other fans. The international push here is something to follow, especially in sports.”
For the Eagles, Friday’s game provides a chance to connect with fans outside of their home market. Although they are the so-called “designated team,” meaning it counts as a home game, the Eagles weren’t in charge of selling tickets like they are at Lincoln Financial Field. Instead, the NFL sold the tickets at the 47,000-seat Corinthians Arena and will share revenue generated from the game among the league’s 32 franchises. That is the case for the other international games, too, according to O’Reilly, who added the league’s owners agreed to such an arrangement.
Protocol For Brazil Game
Some players have expressed hesitation about playing abroad. On his podcast last week, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay said, “Man, I do not want to go to Brazil” and claimed he told his family not to come on the trip, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Receiver A.J. Brown, meanwhile, told reporters the franchise gave the players tips on what to do and what not to do while in Brazil and said “After hearing all this stuff, I’m probably going to be in my room.”
Still, the Eagles’ business staff will be busy, including having a meet and greet with military personnel serving in Brazil. They are also hosting a party on Thursday night for fans in Brazil, where the team’s cheerleaders and mascot (Swoop) will appear. The franchise has been in touch with two Brazil residents who have run Eagles fan social media channels for years, too.
“They’re just incredible super fans who have been managing the fan community in a really organized way,” said Jen Kavanagh, the Eagles’ senior vice president of media and marketing. “They were the perfect people to help plan and guide us. It was an unexpected gift.”
She added: “There’s an NFL fan base established almost everywhere in the world to varying degrees. We do have an established fan base in Brazil. This experience is going to help us understand exactly how large that is, but we expect we’ll definitely see a nice group of fans there.”
The Eagles are also one of 25 organizations that are part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program, which launched two years ago and provides franchises with marketing rights in countries outside of the U.S. This year, the Eagles have rights to hold events and secure commercial opportunities in Australia, Ghana and New Zealand. Kavanagh said the Eagles are bullish on those countries because they have a large number of young sports fans who are starting to embrace football.
“The approach really needs to be thoughtful and personalized,” Kavanagh said of the way the Eagles market to fans in various markets. “We look a certain way and we execute a certain way here in Philadelphia because it’s authentic to our environment. When we’re going into other countries, we want to figure out ways to make a connection that also considers their culture and their traditions and ways we can bring those two things together to make it as multicultural a celebration as possible.”
As of now, re-launching a league similar to NFL Europe “is not on the short-term docket,” according to O’Reilly, but he said the league intends to expand its international business. It is in contact with the International Federation of American Football, the sport’s governing body based in Paris, about increasing participation in tackle and flag football. And the NFL is exploring hosting regular season games in other countries.
“The future is, I wouldn't say wide open, but we're in diligence mode of looking at what are those next potential cities to play games,” O’Reilly said. “It’s not just about playing games. It's about where can you really cultivate a fan base and be part of that market and that community on a year round basis? We'll continue to look at markets around the world where there's passion for American football.”
