NFL considering Germany as next international destination
The NFL appears to be looking at expanding international locations to host regular-season games, and Germany has emerged as the top destination to join England and Mexico as host countries as early as 2022.
According to a league memo regarding a proposed international scheduling model, the NFL currently is considering putting a game in either Munich or Berlin starting with the 2022 season.
The memo outlines the league’s tentative plan for 2022, putting two games in London, one in Mexico and one in Germany. For the upcoming 2021 season, the NFL will stage just two international games, both at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Atlanta Falcons will host the New York Jets on Oct. 10, and the Jacksonville Jaguars will be the home team against the Miami Dolphins the following week.
According to the memo and detailed in multiple reports, when NFL owners voted to expand the regular-season schedule to 17 games, they also agreed to a rule that would require every team to “host” at least one international game every eight years.
The New England Patriots could among the first teams to play in Germany, as owner Robert Kraft reportedly noted in 2018 that his team would “be willing to play if they’d kindly arrange that.”
A report by NBC Sports suggested the first game in Germany likely would be held at Allianz Arena, a 70,000-seat stadium that’s home to soccer team Bayern Munich, and according to the memo, it would be played on a Sunday afternoon in Germany with a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff for American viewers.
–Field Level Media
