The National Football League will be heading overseas again in 2023, with five teams set to play in London and Germany next season, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported on Thursday.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will play games in London, along with the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars, while Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs will join the New England Patriots to play in Germany during the 2023-24 campaign.
There will be no game in Mexico in 2023 as renovations continue at Estadio Azteca, although the NFL intends to return to Mexico in the future, per Pelissero.
With the expansion of the NFL schedule in 2021, up to four of the teams from the conference whose teams are eligible for a ninth regular-season home game are now designated to play a neutral-site international game each year. Jacksonville plays in London each year, Pelissero tweeted.
“We have a long history and we continue to grow, but these international games are pivotal,” NFL executive Peter O'Reilly told The Associated Press. “Those who have been there and experienced it, you just see the passion of the fans in these markets. This is the chance for them to experience the best of the NFL live, and it's an opportunity for year-round engagement with the fans there. There's nothing bigger and better than an NFL game and those teams to be there in those markets and putting it on in a stadium.”
Article Continues BelowTom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Munich in the NFL's first regular-season game in Germany last year; the NFL confirmed that Munich and Frankfurt will host games over the next four years.
The Bills and Titans will play their second games in London; Buffalo lost to Jacksonville in London in 2015, while Tennessee fell to the Chargers in 2018.
The five international games in 2022 set record-breaking attendance and viewership, with high demand and all five being sold out; a total of 356,116 fans were in attendance, according to ESPN.
The Bills and Titans will play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season, while the Jaguars are confirmed for Wembley Stadium.