Goodell says Tokyo is on NFL's list for 2027 or 2028

Tokyo and Japan

Goodell gave the timeline on the NFL Daily podcast on Friday, Oct. 23, two days before the Steelers met the Saints in Paris. "Tokyo is clearly on our list, whether it's next year or the year after," he said. "It's coming at some point in the near future."

Japan is not new ground for the league, only for the regular season. The NFL played 14 exhibition games there between 1976 and 2005, 13 of them in Tokyo, the last a preseason meeting between the Falcons and Colts. Goodell cited the Rams-49ers season opener in Melbourne, where he said 100,000 people attended on a Friday morning, as evidence the travel can be managed. The Rams hold marketing rights in Japan through the NFL's Global Markets Program.

The 2027 cap

NFL owners voted in May to raise the cap on international games from eight to 10, starting in 2027. Peter O'Reilly, the league's executive vice president of club business and international and league events, said on Tuesday, Oct. 20, that 10 international games are on the table for next season.

Ten is the most the current collective bargaining agreement allows. Going beyond 10 would need the NFL Players Association's agreement. The Jacksonville Jaguars' Wembley game falls outside that limit, so 2027 could see 11 international contests rather than 10.

O'Reilly, speaking before the Paris game, said the league wants to keep returning to the markets it has opened: "We like continuity, but we are looking at new regions, and Asia would be one of them."

The growth curve

The NFL staged two international games in the 2021 season, five in each of 2022, 2023 and 2024, seven in 2025 and nine in 2026. Ten in 2027 would be 10 of the 272 games on the schedule, and 11 would be more than double the five a year the league played from 2022 to 2024. This season's slate includes games in Australia, Brazil, England, France, Spain, Germany and Mexico.

Goodell wants more. He said in July the league has its eyes on "16 games internationally every year" and hopes to stage an international game almost every week, with "about 10" international markets in mind. Reaching 16 would also need the union's consent. He said in August he has "no doubt" there will be an NFL team outside the United States "at some point," and that he would like an international city to host a Super Bowl.

What happens next

No Tokyo date or matchup has been announced. O'Reilly said in May that Asia might have to wait until after 2027. He said a permanent overseas franchise is not a current priority: "Frankly, that's not something we're spending a lot of time on day-to-day. It's really about planting those seeds for what could be possible someday."