NFL owners approve record 10 international games for 2027 with sights on more expansion abroad

The NFL's inexorable march toward playing a full season's worth of games abroad took another step Tuesday when club owners approved adding one more international game for the 2027 season, bringing that number to a record 10 games.

And if you think it will stop at 10 or 11 international games, you'd be mistaken. The league's ultimate goal is to play a full season of games internationally. That means a whopping 17 or 18 games abroad.

That also means an international game every week of the season.

And that also means every team playing one international game every season.

The proliferation of international games is so acute that league executives are well on their way to not differentiating how they view games in America and games abroad.

"We don't lock in our international games like we used to do not that long ago," said NFL Vice President of Broadcasting and Planning Mike North. "I mean, you guys will remember, we've announced international games at times in November for the following season. I think it's indicative of how our fans and our teams and our partners are treating these games now.

"I don't want to call them routine. I know they're not. But they're just another NFL game on the schedule."

EverBank Stadium, currently undergoing renovations, will be completely closed during the 2027 season. So the Jaguars have agreed to use Camping World Stadium in Orlando as their temporary home field. That means the NFL hopes to use the Jaguars game at Wembley Stadium as its 11th international game.

It means the NFL, which long ago surpassed baseball as the national sport, is increasingly wanting to dominate the world.

So, 10 or 11 games that would otherwise be played in the United States, won't be. And the league plans to increase the number.

It also means the NFL fully embraces the idea of turning some NFL Sundays into marathon events with an international game starting at 9:30 a.m. (ET), followed by the regular 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. windows on the East Coast, and the primetime 8:20 p.m. game to end the day - about 14 hours of NFL games on television.

Some fans in the United States may balk at the idea they have to share their teams on some level with international venues and fans.

But the NFL has clearly determined that any potential loss will be outweighed by the growth of its international fan base.