The NFL's international programme is set for another significant step in 2026, with a record nine games scheduled outside the United States. For anyone tracking NFL results beyond the weekly scorelines, the bigger story is how firmly the league is now using overseas markets to build momentum across a full season.
London remains central to that plan. In October, the NFL will play three games in the city, including the Indianapolis Colts against the Washington Commanders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Philadelphia Eagles the following week at the same venue, and the Jaguars against the Houston Texans at Wembley Stadium on October 18.
London still provides the template
Neil Reynolds has pointed out that London has already helped prove a key part of the NFL's model: teams can come in, practise efficiently, play, and leave without the schedule becoming unworkable. That is important because the league is not treating international fixtures as one-off exhibitions. It is building a repeatable structure around them.
The NFL's commissioner has also described the strategy as a kind of Formula 1 approach, with different teams playing in different markets. That makes sense of the scale of the 2026 season, where the league is not simply leaning on London but spreading games across 11, 12 markets and, in the commissioner’s words, aiming to grow the fanbase in 10, 11, 12 markets rather than just one or two.
More markets, more pressure
That wider rollout is what makes the 2026 season stand out. Alongside London, the NFL will stage its first game in Paris, France towards the end of October, while Australia and Brazil are also part of the expanded schedule. It is a clear sign that the league wants its international results to matter in commercial terms as much as they do on the field.
There has also been talk this summer of international franchises and a European division in Germany, which only adds to the sense that the NFL's overseas ambition is moving beyond staged trips and into longer-term planning. The immediate focus, though, is straightforward enough: three games in London in October, nine international games in all next season, and a league that is clearly testing how far its footprint can stretch.
