As the NFL continues to expand its international footprint, commissioner Roger Goodell says it is inevitable that the league will eventually have a team permanently based outside the United States.
Goodell offered his insights on the NFL's international growth during a recent interview with German media outlet RTL/ntv.
"At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA," Goodell told former NFL player Markus Kuhn during the interview. "I have no doubt that this will happen one day."
The league's growing international profile has led to questions about whether a Super Bowl eventually will be played on foreign soil.
Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's executive vice president of club business, international and league events, said in May that an international Super Bowl is "not a front-burner issue" as of now.
But Goodell told RTL/ntv that if the NFL has a team permanently located in an international city, that site could potentially serve as a Super Bowl host.
"There are definitely international cities that could host something like that," Goodell said. "But we would like to see an NFL team in such a city first."
The NFL voted earlier this year to play as many as 10 international games starting in 2027, up from eight previously. The league also voted to strip teams' ability to protect any home games from international play.
The league's 2026 schedule features nine international games -- eight league-run games and a London game as part of an agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Wembley Stadium. This year's host sites are Melbourne, Australia; Rio de Janeiro; London (three games); Paris; Madrid; Munich; and Mexico City.
