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Afternoon Edition

February 9, 2026

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The NFL’s international push is picking up speed. Commissioner Roger Goodell said that overseas teams are “very possible” as the league ramps up games and global reach.

— Margaret Fleming [[link removed]] and Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Goodell Says Adding NFL Teams Abroad Is ‘Very Possible Someday’ [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The NFL is going all in on international growth.

Several league leaders spent Super Bowl week talking about the league’s strategy for growing its international footprint. The Seahawks’ win over the Patriots in Super Bowl LX [[link removed]] culminated a season where the NFL played a record seven regular-season games outside the U.S., and the league has already committed to nine international games [[link removed]] in 2026. But commissioner Roger Goodell has long said he wants to increase that number to 16.

Radio announcer Scott Graham asked Goodell whether the league was interested in adding new teams at some point. The league has not expanded since adding the Houston Texans in 2002.

“You can think of expansion as the number of teams, or you can think of expansion as us playing in international markets,” Goodell told Westwood One Sports [[link removed]] in an interview that aired Sunday.

Goodell said that if the league’s international growth continues, he can see a future NFL team based outside the U.S.

“Undoubtedly even today, I think there are cities out there that I think could support an NFL team, and we’re at the early stages,” Goodell said. “I don’t take international expansion off the table. I think it’s very possible someday.”

Packers linebacker Micah Parsons told FOS [[link removed]] last week that he also supports the idea of the NFL establishing a team overseas.

“I know it’d be uneven in divisions, but I look at it like, make it like the Notre Dame of the NFL,” Parsons said. “I’d be the first one on board to go over.”

Even beyond an international team, the NFL wants more of its existing franchises to go abroad more often.

“The dream would be to have every team play an international game every year,” league EVP Jeff Miller told Front Office Sports [[link removed]] at Radio Row. “There is the demand; the question is whether there’s the supply, because we only play so many games.”

NFLPA interim executive director David White said that players aren’t interested in increasing that supply. Last week, he called adding an 18th game to the schedule [[link removed]] “a very serious issue” and said the players “don’t have any appetite for it.”

In January, Patriots owner Robert Kraft was frank with a local radio station in Boston about both the schedule and international expansion. “Every team will go to 18 [regular-season games] and two [preseason games] and eliminate one of the preseason games, and every team every year will play one game overseas,” Kraft said on the Zolak & Bertrand show [[link removed]]. Goodell later said the 18-game regular season is “ not a given [[link removed]].”

The NFL has 32 franchises, meaning each team playing one game abroad would give the league its 16 international games. The Jaguars are the league’s model, having played one or two games in London every year since 2013 (except 2020).

Latin Halftime Show Amid International Push

To find evidence of the NFL’s strategy, look no further than its halftime performance by rapper Bad Bunny [[link removed]].

The singer, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is from the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and sings mostly in Spanish. Bad Bunny’s halftime show was a cultural celebration highlighting the Latin American community [[link removed]] in the U.S. [[link removed]] At the end of his performance, he shouted out countries in the Americas and flew their flags [[link removed]], and showed a football reading “Together We Are America.”

The NFL has been increasing its presence throughout the Americas, playing its first game in Brazil last season and going back to Mexico City in 2026.

Bad Bunny called for “ICE out” [[link removed]] during his acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards, after which Goodell seemed unconcerned about whether the singer would make a strong political statement at the Super Bowl.

“Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated [at the Grammys], one of the great artists in the world,” Goodell said in the week before the game. [[link removed]] “And that’s one of the reasons we chose him.”

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Modelo Especial [[link removed]] is not just a “crack one whenever” beer. It is a “you’ve earned this” beer. Brewed with a rich, full-flavored taste, Modelo is made for people who show up, grind it out, and carry The Mark of a Fighter, even when no one’s watching. Which is why it gets sports. Because sports are mostly work, pressure, and pain, with a few glorious moments at the end. Crack one at kickoff, chant at the top of your lungs, jump out of your seat, save one for the final whistle. Either way, that Modelo [[link removed]] is earned.

NFL Opening-Night Decision Starts in Seattle: Chiefs, Bears in Play [[link removed]]

Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

With the Seahawks’ Super Bowl LX title in hand [[link removed]], focus now turns to the 2026 season, and more pointedly, which opponent will start next season in Seattle.

The NFL is due to release its schedule for next season in May, in keeping with the league’s typical practice. The Seahawks are set to host the season-opening game at Lumen Field, continuing the league’s tradition of the defending Super Bowl champion having a primetime home game on NBC to start the new season.

By terms of the league’s long-established schedule formula [[link removed]], the Seahawks’ opponents for the 2026 season have already been determined, and the away team for that high-profile season opener in Seattle will be one of these nine possibilities:

Arizona Cardinals Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Kansas City Chiefs Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams New England Patriots New York Giants San Francisco 49ers

Two immediate options leap off this list: the Chiefs and Bears. The 2026 season opener could represent the return of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes as he recuperates from a torn knee ligament [[link removed]]. The Chiefs are also the NFL’s top viewership draw, playing in four of the five most-watched regular-season games in 2025, including a record-setting clash on Thanksgiving [[link removed]].

Chicago, meanwhile, had a breakthrough season in 2025, reaching the divisional playoffs and drawing big television audiences [[link removed]] as well.

The Cowboys, consistently one of the top viewership draws in the league along with the Chiefs, are also a noted possibility, but Dallas was tapped to start the 2025 season [[link removed]] against the Eagles.

The Super Bowl rematch against the Patriots could be reserved for later in the season, as that is guaranteed to draw significant viewers whenever it’s played. The Super Bowl LIX rematch between the Eagles and Chiefs happened in Week 2 of the 2025 season, drawing an average of 33.8 million viewers [[link removed]], the NFL’s most-watched game of the regular season outside of two Thanksgiving games.

International Considerations

The Rams and 49ers, meanwhile, are already slated to play in Melbourne [[link removed]] in a game that almost certainly will happen in Week 1 of the 2026 season.

Because of the significant time-zone considerations inherent in that matchup—the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia—it’s possible that it will be played on Thursday, Sept. 10, with the Seahawks moving a day earlier to a Wednesday slot.

Since all NFC teams in 2026 will have a ninth home game in the schedule rotation, there is also a heightened possibility of the Seahawks playing an international game. Seattle has rights to Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and Switzerland in the NFL’s Global Markets Program. The NFL will play in Munich next season [[link removed]], which would tap into the Seahawks’ territory. The Falcons, however, are angling to play in that game [[link removed]] and also have rights to Germany, as do several other teams.

Road Warriors

Seattle’s road schedule next season includes games at five 2025 playoff teams: the Broncos, Eagles, Panthers, Rams, and 49ers.

Those matchups will similarly be in strong demand as networks jockey for top games in the coming weeks, as the upcoming schedule is finalized.

SPONSORED BY ATHLETES UNLIMITED

Women’s Sports Is Big Business

On Feb. 26, Front Office Sports and Athletes Unlimited are joining forces to host Future of Women’s Sports with speakers Sydney Colson, Athletes Unlimited athlete; Uzma Rawn Dowler of Major League Baseball; sports broadcaster Ros Gold-Onwude; Michelle Kennedy of the Nashville Predators; Lara Krug of the Kansas City Chiefs; Carolyn Braff of PepsiCo; Nancy Dubuc of TOGETHXR; Jon Patricof and Allie Kleva of Athletes Unlimited; and others.

This half-day summit [[link removed]]—hosted in one of the country’s most dynamic sports cities—will forecast where women’s sports is headed and highlight the vast opportunities that still lie ahead.

Set in advance of the AU Pro Basketball Championship game, this experience will bring together collaborators in culture, business, and competition to explore what’s next.

This is your front-row seat to the future of women’s sports. Don’t miss your opportunity to join us— request to attend [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT Three Up, One Push

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

UNC ⬆⬇ The Tar Heels’ 71–68 win over rival Duke led to two court stormings, with fans prematurely leaving their seats after Seth Trimble’s go-ahead three-pointer, only to find out there were 0.4 seconds left on the clock. As a result, the ACC fined UNC $50,000 on Sunday for violating “the league’s event security policy.”

Klint Kubiak ⬆ After winning Super Bowl LX, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak [[link removed]] confirmed that he will be the Raiders’ next head coach [[link removed]]. Las Vegas’s opening is the last of 10 to be filled this hiring cycle [[link removed]], with the Raiders having to wait until the Seahawks’ season was over to officially announce a deal. Kubiak spent only one year in Seattle and has coached on a different team in each of the last five seasons.

International coaches ⬆ Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde [[link removed]] became the first coach from overseas [[link removed]] to win a Super Bowl in NFL history. Born in North London, Durde played linebacker in NFL Europe for six years, while also spending time on the practice squads of the Panthers and Chiefs. He coached six years in London before landing a job in the NFL with the Falcons in 2018 and was named Seattle’s DC in 2024.

Alpine ⬆ Former Red Bull Racing CEO Christian Horner is reportedly in talks [[link removed]] to acquire a stake in the Formula One team. Horner’s offer for a 24% stake is being backed by MSP Sports Capital, which sold its stake in McLaren Racing in 2025. Alpine finished in last place in the 2025 F1 standings with 22 points and is owned primarily by the Renault Group, a French automobile manufacturer.

Editors’ Picks Kirk Cousins Weighs Playing and TV With Falcons Future in Doubt [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]The veteran quarterback told FOS he’s open to more sports media work. North Dakota State to Join Mountain West As Football Member in 2026 [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The Bison have finalized a deal to jump to the FBS level. Former UFC Champ Daniel Cormier Touts ‘Historic’ Paramount Deal [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]“Now we’re in line with the rest of the sports.” DAILY TRIVIA Factle Sports

Can you rank the top five men’s tennis players by the most career aces on the ATP Tour?

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Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Games [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Shop [[link removed]] Written by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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