LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 02: General view inside the stadium prior to the NFL match between Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 02, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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The NFL has made a major effort in recent years to expand its footprint across the globe. The 2026 season will feature the most international games ever in an NFL season.
On Wednesday, the NFL released its international schedule, which features nine games located in Australia, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Mexico and Spain.
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 02: General view inside the stadium prior to the NFL match between Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 02, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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“The 2026 NFL season will feature our most expansive and ambitious international slate yet, with regular-season games spanning Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, London, Paris, Madrid, Munich and Mexico City,” NFL executive vice president of club business, major events and international Peter O’Reilly said in a news release. “This year’s record-breaking schedule will see a host of world-class NFL franchises and star athletes play in some of the most iconic sporting venues in the world, underlying the league’s global growth vision and bringing our fans internationally closer to the game than ever before.”
While it’s good business adding more international games to the NFL schedule, not every team is enthused about the long flights. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t see the upside for his team.
“I don’t see any pro,” Shanahan said in March, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “It’s cool for the league to play globally. I think that’s awesome. But as far as the team doing it, no, there’s not much benefit to it.”
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Shanahan even sarcastically joked about the long flight that awaits his team to Australia.
"I was so fired up," Shanahan said. “That was our goal to go 19 hours away to play a game.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about Shanahan’s comments, to which Goodell said he will be sending Shanahan an app that helps with jet lag.
"We’re going to make it a great experience for the team. That’s one of the things we focus on," Goodell said, per John Breech of CBS Sports.
Even if it’s a great experience for the 49ers, they have a reasonable gripe. They play two international games (Mexico and Australia), and per Bill Sperros of Bookies.com, the 49ers travel 10,000 miles more than any other team this season at 38,105 miles. The top five teams in projected miles traveled all play international games this season.
A lot is on the line in Australia in Week 1 for the 49ers in an NFC West divisional tilt against the Los Angeles Rams. It’ll be a long flight back for the losing team.
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