NFL prioritizing expanding international series to Australia, pondering holding Pro Bowl Games there in future

With the NFL concluding its international series Sunday with the Panthers and Giants in Germany, international expansion in the coming years continues to be at the top of mind for league executives.

Outside of London, where the NFL has for years centered its international operations, the country seeing the greatest investment from the NFL is Australia. Sources tell CBS Sports the NFL could hold a regular season game on the island continent as early as the 2026 season, and the NFL has pondered playing the Pro Bowl Games Down Under at some point in the future.

Though the NFL is expanding its international games to eight for the 2025 season, it is believed that Australia — specifically Sydney and Melbourne — will have to wait another year for a game. The NFL has conducted site visits to both cities as it continues to work through the logistical hurdles.

Despite a time difference larger than any other lands currently being explored by the league — Sydney is 16 hours ahead of Eastern time now but 14 hours ahead in September — the NFL is eager to get to Australia for a regular season game. Consider the investments the league has made there: In 2022, the NFL tabbed New Zealand native Charlotte Offord to be the general manager for its Australian efforts. In September of this year, the league opened an NFL Academy on Australia’s Gold Coast that will develop student athletes between the ages of 12 to 18.

The Australian academy is the second international academy the league sponsors, following suit with the United Kingdom. An “elite high-performance NFL Academy facility on existing college grounds” in Australia will be completed by 2026, the league announced earlier this year.

Australia entices the NFL for several reasons. There is a vibrant sports scene there, and there’s no language barrier. It is distinct from the European expansion the league has endeavored, and no other major American sports league has penetrated the market.

“When you start to talk about Asia, Pacific and Australia, you talk about distance and logistics and the football component of that,” Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s head of international affairs, said in May. “So those factors are real. But our role is to really look at the globe, look at where the fan base is strong and do the diligence, make the evaluations.”

Most of the Australian-born players in the NFL have been or are specialists, specifically punters. The biggest success (literally and figuratively) has been Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, a former seventh-round pick who earlier this year became one of the highest-paid offensive linemen in NFL history on an average annual salary basis. The Eagles are one of two teams with international marketing rights to Australia, with the Rams being the other. It’s logical that one or both of those teams would be involved in the eventual regular season game there.

And with Australian-rules football and rugby being major sports in the country, there’s a thought that American football would not and is not so unfamiliar to Australians.

The NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell haven’t been shy about the international push. While an international team (or division of teams) is not being considered, Goodell made headlines recently when he floated the idea of a London Super Bowl. Sources across the league have since said an international Super Bowl isn’t legitimately on the league’s agenda.

But the NFL does hope to have a full international slate of games in the coming years. Next year the league can have up to eight international games, and desire exists for 16 international contests where all 32 teams play outside the country eventually.

Next year the NFL will play games in London, Spain, Brazil, Germany, Mexico and Ireland. Among the cities where the NFL has conducted other site surveys include Abu Dhabi, Paris, Barcelona, Rome and Dublin.

There has also been some level of discussion about playing the Pro Bowl Games in Australia at a future date.

The NFL played the Pro Bowl in Hawaii all but two years between 1980 through 2016. Since then, it has traveled to Orlando (2017-2019) and Las Vegas (2022 and 2023) with no game being played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event will return to Orlando and be played the week before Super Bowl LIX.

More directly, the NFL reimagined the Pro Bowl two years ago to include skills competitions, and the league turned the game into a flag football contest. The league has been leading the push flag football for years, and flag football was chosen as an Olympic sport for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

It’s the first time American football has been part of the Olympics program, but it’s what’s known as a discretionary event. That means it doesn’t have a permanent place in the Olympic schedule and can be dropped, much like breakdancing won’t be part of the 2028 Games.

A postseason all-star weekend in Australia would also serve the NFL’s efforts for flag football expansion, specifically in the Olympics. The 2032 Games will be held in Brisbane, and the NFL needs momentum to see flag football in a second consecutive Olympics.

And as one source pointed out, because it’s a discretionary event, the Aussies will likely want to pick events they can medal in. By the 2032 Games, the NFL’s efforts in the country will have been a decade old. American football — and flag football for that matter – should be well known to the country by then. And some excitement from seeing the world’s top players play flag football in their all-star event years earlier would likely help matters.

By the way, it still remains unclear whether NFL players will be allowed to participate in the 2028 Olympics. Sources believe a decision won’t be made on that by the end of this year, though there’s hope for more clarity in 2025.