Misplaced Pages

#801198

133-676: In the past, games in the package also aired occasionally on Saturdays in the later portion of the season, as well as select games from the NFL International Series (since 2017, these games have been branded as NFL Network Specials ). Debuting on November 23, 2006 , the telecasts were originally part of NFL Network 's Run to the Playoffs package, which consisted of eight total games broadcast on Thursday and Saturday nights (five on Thursdays, and three on Saturdays, originally branded as Saturday Night Football ) during

266-488: A Christmas Day game . As with the previous contract, all games will be simulcast by NFL Network. Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the league was "thrilled to add NBC to the TNF mix, a trusted partner with a proven track record of success broadcasting NFL football in primetime, and look forward to expanding with a digital partner for what will be a unique tri-cast on broadcast, cable and digital platforms." On April 5, 2016, it

399-656: A unanimous vote of approval to play a series of regular and preseason games at Rogers Centre in Toronto from 2008 to 2017. This was separate from the regular International Series as arrangements are made by the team as opposed to the league as with the International Series. The Bills' Toronto Series was mutually terminated after the 2013 contest. Due to significant time zone differences, from 2007 to 2015 teams playing in London would have their bye week in

532-655: A Thursday (Fox carried the NLCS and the World Series that year), so Buck continued to broadcast both sports, crisscrossing the country in seven cities over a 22-day period. The following year, the Chiefs–Broncos telecast fell on the same evening as Game 4 of the ALCS, requiring Buck to leave New York City for Denver and Joe Davis to fill in on baseball. NFL Network has occasionally used non-Fox Sports broadcast teams for

665-517: A Thursday game following a Sunday game that guarantees each team a nationally televised game with 26 of them playing on Thursday Night Football and the other six playing on Thanksgiving. In addition, matchups are created with the intent to minimize travel in the leadup to the Thursday game. In general, the road team will play a home game the Sunday prior, while the home team will either play at home or

798-605: A few years, including some who only played at the high school level. An NFL-funded study reported that high school football players suffered 11.2 concussions per 10,000 games or practices, nearly twice as many as college football players. According to 2017 study on brains of deceased gridiron football players, 99% of tested brains of NFL players, 88% of CFL players, 64% of semi-professional players, 91% of college football players, and 21% of high school football players had various stages of CTE. Other common injuries include injuries of legs, arms, and lower back. Below are

931-445: A game should be broadcast. Jared Stacy, Amazon's head of global live sports production, stated that they were "challenged by our leadership to figure out what’s next and to take some swings". Gaudelli went as far as suggesting that the on-field down and distance graphic use Amazon's "smile" symbol as an arrow. Amazon will employ 13 "super slo-mo" cameras, two Skycams, and TrackMan ball tracking. Pinar Toprak composed new theme music for

1064-582: A higher fee; although, as with all other national cable telecasts of NFL games, the league's own regulations require the games to be syndicated to over-the-air television stations in the local markets of the teams. These issues were magnified in 2007, when a game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants that saw the Patriots defeat the Giants to close out a perfect regular season

1197-710: A minimum of three, and as many as five games to be held over the initial agreement period of three years. In 2016, the Oakland Raiders hosted the Houston Texans on November 21 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, at the first International Series game played in Mexico. Previously, the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers had expressed interest in playing a game at Estadio Azteca (or possibly Estadio Olímpico Universitario ) in Mexico City, although Houston

1330-529: A multi-year carriage agreement on October 6, 2019. On April 29, 2020, Amazon renewed its digital rights through the 2022 season, maintaining the TNF simulcasts and digital content, and also adding exclusive international rights to one late-season game per-season outside of the package (which will be produced by CBS). For its simulcasts, Amazon replaced the British feed with a new "Scout's Feed" with extended analysis by Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah (akin to

1463-471: A rights fee. The other television deals generated $ 3.735 billion per year over an eight-year period for CBS , Fox , NBC , ESPN and DirecTV (owner of the out-of-market sports package NFL Sunday Ticket ). As previously mentioned, Thursday Night Football debuted on November 23, 2006 , with the Kansas City Chiefs handing the visiting Denver Broncos a 19–10 Thanksgiving defeat. Each of

SECTION 10

#1732772933802

1596-452: A road game against a nearby opponent the Sunday before hosting the Thursday game. However, there will be instances where the road team comes in having played a road game the Sunday prior in a nearby city that makes it possible for teams from far away to play each other on Thursday, as well as consolidate long road trips for the road team. For the 2012 season, a Spanish-language broadcast was added as second audio program . In January 2014, it

1729-488: A secondary English broadcast featuring soccer commentators Ross Dyer and Tommy Smyth (intended for international viewers unfamiliar with the rules and terminology of American football), and a pre-show hosted by Tiki Barber and Curtis Stone that featured presentations of NFL merchandise available for purchase on Amazon. The November 16, 2017 telecast between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans

1862-583: A similar move, the Baltimore Ravens had their scheduled Week 13 TNF game against the Dallas Cowboys postponed to the following Tuesday. The Ravens had dealt with their own outbreak, which included positive tests from players including reigning MVP Lamar Jackson . For that reason, the Ravens had to postpone their Thanksgiving game against the Pittsburgh Steelers three times, the first time

1995-684: A three-year deal, allowing the games' viewership on Prime Video, Twitch, out-of-home, and on local broadcast stations to be tabulated in the Nielsen ratings . Amazon carried a preseason game on August 25, 2022, featuring the San Francisco 49ers at the Houston Texans . The first regular season game on September 15, 2022 featured the Los Angeles Chargers at the Kansas City Chiefs . Nielsen reported an average of 13 million viewers across all measured platforms, which were in line with

2128-399: Is at greater risk in shear when the brain is young. Myelination is completed at about 15 years of age. Children also have larger heads relative to their body size and weaker necks. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is caused by repeated brain trauma, such as concussions and blows to the head that do not produce concussions. It has been found in football players who had played for only

2261-565: Is in the SNF package, in order for NBC to allow Michaels over a week's rest before the end of the season. Tirico would also call the December 22, 2016 TNF game alongside Collinsworth, as well as two NBC-produced Thursday Night Special game broadcasts on December 18 and Christmas Day, respectively, both alongside former USFL and NFL quarterback Doug Flutie , who serves as the analyst for NBC's college football coverage as well. On May 31, 2017, it

2394-455: Is not allowing commercials for alcoholic beverages to air during its telecasts (although they may still appear in advertising slots sold by the league, or as part of commercial time held by local broadcasters). As with all other NFL telecasts not on national broadcast television, all Thursday Night Football games are required to be simulcast on a broadcast television station in the home market of each participating team. To ensure availability of

2527-614: Is the basic level or step of tackle football . The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) establishes the rules of high school American football in the United States. In Canada, high school is governed by Football Canada and most schools use Canadian football rules adapted for the high school game except in British Columbia , which uses the NFHS rules. Since the 2019 high school season, Texas

2660-560: Is the only state that does not base its football rules on the NFHS rule set, instead using NCAA rules with certain exceptions shown below. Through the 2018 season, Massachusetts also based its rules on those of the NCAA, but it adopted NFHS rules in 2019. With their common ancestry, the NFHS rules of high school American football are largely similar to the college game, though with some important differences: At least one unique high school rule has been adopted by college football. In 1996,

2793-612: The Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 31–14 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City , Mexico, under the name "NFL Fútbol Americano ". It was the first regular season NFL game held outside the United States. The game drew the NFL's highest game attendance at the time with 103,467 spectators. Roger Goodell , the commissioner of the NFL, considered expanding the league's appeal overseas ever since

SECTION 20

#1732772933802

2926-703: The Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium and then the following week on October 8 as the designated visiting team against the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; they won both games. In November 2023, the NFL said that they would again have five international games for the 2024 season. Three will be in London (one of those will be the Jaguars' regular home game in Wembley), one will be in Munich and

3059-645: The ESPN "film room" broadcasts of college football games), and " NFL Next Live" on Twitch (with viewer interactivity). On October 19, because of a COVID-19 outbreak involving the Tennessee Titans , the originally scheduled Thursday Night game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills , was moved to the following Monday due to the Titans playing the Bills the previous Tuesday. The Chiefs won 26–17. In

3192-531: The East Coast of the United States and will either be home or (in the Jaguars' case) playing in East Rutherford, New Jersey . In 2018 and 2019 all teams once again received their bye immediately following their international game, including the teams who played in Mexico. Through 2020, due to NFL rules, teams that were playing in temporary homes as part of a relocation or that were recently awarded

3325-939: The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff , Wales ; and Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh , Scotland . Other prime locations to get games would be Croke Park or Aviva Stadium in Dublin , Ireland (Ireland has already hosted the NCAA Emerald Isle Classic , a college football game similar to the International Series, and former Steelers owner Dan Rooney was once an ambassador to the country), Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , Olympiastadion in Berlin , Germany, China, and Canada (Canada hosted

3458-580: The Minnesota Vikings would host the Pittsburgh Steelers , marking the first season with multiple games in London. The NFL played three international games for the 2014 season , including one game with an earlier 9:30 am ET (2:30 pm UK time) start, which allowed for an afternoon game, rather than an evening game, in London. This timeslot proved to be successful as all London games in 2015 and 2016 were also scheduled at 9:30 am ET. Three games were again scheduled in 2015 – including

3591-1272: The NFL Brazil Game in São Paulo , and the future NFL Madrid Game in Spain . Initially, all games in the International Series were held in London . Wembley Stadium was the exclusive home stadium for International Series games from 2007 to 2015 and continued to host NFL games through 2019 and from 2022 to 2024; beginning in 2016, the series expanded to more stadiums, first to Twickenham Stadium in London (2016–17) and to Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (2016–17, 2019, 2022) and eventually to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London (2019, 2021–29), two locations in Germany: Allianz Arena in Munich (2022 and 2024) and Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt (2023), Arena Corinthians in São Paulo , Brazil (2024), and Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid , Spain (2025). Before 2005,

3724-507: The NFL Mexico Game . In January 2018, it was announced that three games would be played in London that year, with two at Wembley and the other the first game at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium. However, it was later confirmed that the opening of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be delayed and therefore all three games would be held at Wembley. Having already fulfilled the minimum three-game requirement for Twickenham Stadium in 2017,

3857-618: The National Football League (NFL)'s primary method of promoting its game abroad was through the American Bowl , a series of preseason games played around the world, and NFL Europe , a developmental league based in Europe. The American Bowls ended in 2005 (though a similar China Bowl was planned for 2007 before being canceled), while NFL Europa (as it was known for its final season) folded in 2007. On October 2, 2005,

3990-516: The TNF package in Canada through the end of the 2016 season but has not yet acquired digital rights (the majority of the NFL's media rights in Canada are owned by Rogers's rival, Bell Media ), successfully forced Twitter to block the game streams in that country , overriding the league's insistence that the free stream be global. Due to the streaming deal, over-the-top television providers PlayStation Vue and Sling TV are also required to black out

4123-519: The X-Ray feature to access statistics and other content. Fox employed 45 cameras, a dual-skycam setup, triple-lens pylon cameras, and Intel True View replay systems where available. Fox NFL Thursday originated from Fox News Channel 's Studio F in New York City, as well as an outdoor plaza setup on Sixth Avenue ( Fox Square ) with a scaled football field and an audience. A new graphics package

Thursday Night Football - Misplaced Pages Continue

4256-607: The long-standing slate of college football games held on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Thursday Night Football had gone on hiatus during Thanksgiving week since 2012, as the Thanksgiving primetime game had been reassigned to the Sunday Night Football package. As an e-commerce company, the game is expected to leverage a captive audience of holiday shoppers for " Black Friday " as a potential audience, including

4389-554: The overtime rules originally utilized by Kansas high school teams beginning in 1971 were adopted by the NCAA , although the NCAA has made five major modifications. Through the 2018 season, each possession started from the 25-yard line. Since 2021, this remains in force through the first two overtime procedures. In double overtime, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after a touchdown. Secondly, triple overtime & thereafter are two-point conversion attempts instead of possessions from

4522-665: The 2010 season, but eventually abandoned it due to the ongoing CBA negotiations. The league eventually abandoned its attempt to expand the NFL season via CBA negotiations, and the new CBA enacted in 2011 kept the NFL schedule at 16 games through 2020. However, the CBA enacted in 2021 expanded the regular season to 17 games with one bye week and introduced at least four neutral site games each year from 2022. Teams will alternate seasons where they host nine regular-season games and one preseason game, or eight regular-season games and two preseason games. The NFC will have nine regular season home games in

4655-651: The 2010s, participation in high school football decreased in most states across the United States. Wisconsin saw the largest decrease, dropping by nearly a quarter from 2009 to 2019; only seven states saw an increased number of players. Robert Cantu, a Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Co-Founder of the CTE Center at the Boston University School of Medicine, believes that children under 14 should not play tackle football. Their brains are not fully developed, and myelin (nerve cell insulation)

4788-509: The 2012 season, the Thanksgiving primetime game was moved from NFL Network to NBC's Sunday Night Football package. During Super Bowl week in 2012, it was announced that the Thursday Night Football package would expand from eight to 13 games and air on NFL Network, again soliciting and rejecting offers from Turner Sports and Comcast. For the four seasons from 2012 to 2016, and again in 2020 and 2021 all 32 teams played

4921-443: The 2016 and 2017 seasons. CBS and NBC would each air five games (resulting in a schedule of ten games on broadcast television in comparison to eight under the previous deal), followed by an additional eight games exclusively on NFL Network to satisfy NFL Network's retransmission consent contracts with cable providers; the eight NFL Network-exclusive games included six Thursday contests, a Sunday morning International Series contest, and

5054-711: The 2022 season. Games in the United Kingdom are broadcast by Sky Sports with some games on terrestrial broadcaster ITV . On radio, the games are broadcast by Talksport2 . The games have been popular, with tickets selling out in two days, nine months in advance. According to the NFL, only 3% of those attending the London games are Americans or American expatriates, while 22% are from London and 60% from elsewhere in Britain. Ticket prices start from £64 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and £44 at Wembley Stadium. Each designated home team receives US$ 1 million for giving up

5187-403: The 2023 season, teams are not required to have a Thursday game following a Sunday, while teams can play up to two Thursday games following a Sunday game per season. The league also approved the option of flexing Sunday games into Thursday despite overwhelming opposition from players and coaches. Up to two games from weeks 13 through 17 can be flexed with 28 days advanced notice, up from 15 days that

5320-425: The 25-yard line, and successful attempts are scored as conversions instead of touchdowns. Thirty-four states have a mercy rule that comes into play during one-sided games after a prescribed scoring margin is surpassed at halftime or any point thereafter. The type of mercy rule varies from state to state, with many using a "continuous clock" after the scoring margin is reached (wherein, except for specific situations,

5453-784: The Bills Toronto Series from 2008 to 2013 and a preseason game between the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders at IG Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2019). In 2007, NFL senior Vice President Mark Waller doubted Asia or Australia would be targeted because of travel concerns, but did not dismiss the possibility. The league had planned to host a game in China in 2018 with the Los Angeles Rams as

Thursday Night Football - Misplaced Pages Continue

5586-495: The Fox Sports app, Prime Video, and to participating television providers. HDR was only supported through television providers, but Fox stated that HDR and surround sound support would be enabled via streaming "soon". Due a carriage dispute between Dish Network and Fox resulting in the removal of its owned-and-operated stations and cable networks, it was reported that Fox had pushed NFL Network to black out its simulcast of

5719-472: The Fox Sports bid, which was intended to showcase Fox 's continued commitment to sports after the sale of its entertainment businesses to ESPN's majority-owner The Walt Disney Company (which excluded the Fox network itself and Fox Sports' national operations, such as FS1, among other assets). CBS and NBC were also considering renewing their existing contracts, but had requested a lower rights fee to compensate for

5852-700: The NFL Brazil series, the inaugural game in 2024 was aired on Peacock . Explanatory notes Citations High school football High school football , also known as prep football , is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada . It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partly due to risk of injury, particularly concussions . According to The Washington Post , between 2009 and 2019, participation in high school football declined by 9.1%. It

5985-507: The NFL announced that CBS had acquired the partial rights to TNF for the 2014 season. Under the agreement, all of the Thursday Night Football telecasts would be produced by CBS Sports and called by the network's primary announcing team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms . The first eight games of the season were simulcast nationally on NFL Network and CBS; the remaining games in the package only aired nationally on NFL Network, but per league broadcast policies, were simulcast on local stations in

6118-539: The NFL back to ABC for the first time since Super Bowl XL and the move of Monday Night Football to ESPN in 2006. The remaining games would remain exclusive to NFL Network, in order to satisfy carriage agreements with television providers guaranteeing a minimum number of games to air exclusively on the channel. The decision came as the league wished to heighten the profile of its Thursday night games, which had suffered from relatively lower viewership and advertising revenue in comparison to other games. On February 5, 2014,

6251-451: The NFL shifted the package to a new model to increase its prominence. The entire TNF package would be produced by a separate rightsholder, who would hold rights to simulcast a portion of the package on their respective network. CBS was the first rightsholder under this model, airing nine games on broadcast television, and producing the remainder of the package to air exclusively on NFL Network to satisfy its carriage agreements. The package

6384-545: The NFL to focus its global expansion aims on the possibility of having a full franchise located in London. It is believed this would be most likely achieved through relocation of an existing franchise, with the Jaguars most often linked due to their association with the International Series, even though their owner is said to be content with the current arrangement and other franchises have more reason to move (the most often cited being poor on-field performance, lack of fans and uncertainty over stadium leases). The NFL has used some of

6517-473: The NFL unveiled the games scheduled for Thursday Night Football in April 2014; CBS's slate of games featured a number of major divisional rivalries, including New York Giants–Washington , Green Bay–Minnesota , and its opening game on September 11, 2014, featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens . In the wake of the controversy surrounding Ravens player Ray Rice (who had been removed from

6650-707: The October 3, 2019 game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks for Dish Network subscribers to prevent circumvention. However, due to a clause in Dish's carriage agreement that forbade the channel from performing provider-specific programming substitutions, NFL Network agreed to forego the simulcast entirely, and the game was made exclusive to Fox (making it the first TNF game to not air in some capacity on NFL Network). Fox and Dish agreed to

6783-475: The Rams' place and agreed to play a home game in London for four seasons from 2013 through 2016. With this announcement also came news that the NFL were working to schedule a second UK game from 2013 onwards (the Jaguars later extended their agreement with Wembley Stadium through 2020 in an agreement announced in October 2015). In October 2012, it was announced that the Jaguars would host the San Francisco 49ers and

SECTION 50

#1732772933802

6916-411: The Thursday night broadcast. He was joined by NFL Network draft analyst and NBC Notre Dame color man Mike Mayock , and the pairing spent three seasons calling games. As a result of CBS taking over production responsibilities for the TNF broadcasts, its number one broadcast team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms took over the broadcast booth. With NBC adding games in 2016, Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth,

7049-579: The United Kingdom. During a press conference in 2024, he mentioned the possibility of scheduling regular games in London while the Jaguars' stadium is being renovated. This initiative would allow the NFL to evaluate the financial viability of a permanent team in London. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan also owns Premier League club Fulham F.C. , who play in West London. In 2018, Khan dropped his bid to buy Wembley Stadium for nearly $ 800 million. From 2007 to 2014, every NFL International Series game

7182-469: The average numbers that were garnered by Fox's Thursday Night Football broadcasts in the 2021 season, and an increase of five million over that year's season opener (which was an NFL Network-exclusive game). On October 18, 2022, the NFL announced that Thursday Night Football would add a Friday afternoon game on the Friday after Thanksgiving beginning in 2023; Thursday Night Football had taken Thanksgiving week off since. The game will compete directly with

7315-409: The broadcast team of NBC Sunday Night Football , were required under league contract to do the same. NBC had initially hired former Monday Night Football play-by-play man Mike Tirico for Thursdays before the league nixed the idea of any separate broadcast teams for Sunday and Thursday nights. Tirico would eventually call three Sunday Night Football games, including the Thanksgiving night game which

7448-434: The broadcasts at commercial establishments such as bars and restaurants (which might not be configured to handle streaming-only broadcasts), Amazon partnered with DirecTV (which had historically carried NFL Sunday Ticket ) to carry its Thursday Night Football telecasts on special channels for its business customers. In addition, Amazon reached an agreement with Nielsen Media Research to provide audience measurement under

7581-423: The clock keeps running on plays where the clock would normally stop). Other states end the game once the margin is reached or passed. For example, Texas uses a 45-point mercy rule (to stop the game) only in six-man football; for 11-man football there is no automatic stoppage but the coaches may mutually agree to use a continuous clock. High school football in the United States is played almost entirely by boys. Over

7714-456: The country's numerous modern stadiums. In October 2021, it was confirmed that Düsseldorf , Frankfurt and Munich had been invited to participate in deeper conversations about hosting NFL games. In March 2022, the Jaguars confirmed they had reached an agreement with Wembley Stadium to host an annual game through 2024. In the following season, the Jaguars became the first team to play two games in London in one season. On October 1, they hosted

7847-541: The current arrangement with CBS; the league also requested that bidders outline goals for "growing" NFL Network. The league was also reportedly interested in selling non-exclusive digital rights to simulcast the games to another partner, such as Amazon.com , Apple Inc. , Google , or Yahoo! (which exclusively streamed an International Series as part of a trial during the 2015 season, but would shut down its original video content service in January 2016). In January 2016, it

7980-414: The decreasing viewership of the NFL ( TNF had been cited as one factor in the downturn, due to a perceived oversaturation of nationally televised games). It was also reported that the NFL would also allow digital companies to make bids for exclusive rights to the TNF package which forego a television partner entirely, unlike the previous non-exclusive deals with Twitter and Amazon. On January 30, 2018, it

8113-584: The designated home team for each international game to have their home stadium reserved for use in the event that a game cannot be played at the international site. The Miami Dolphins hosted the New York Giants in the first International Series game at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on October 28, 2007. The Giants defeated the Dolphins 13–10 in the first regular season NFL game held outside North America. The first 40,000 tickets sold out for

SECTION 60

#1732772933802

8246-432: The early game, while CBS aired the second, prime time game. The NFL considered CBS's bid to be the most attractive, owing to CBS's overall ratings stature (CBS had been the highest-rated broadcast network in the United States since the 2005-06 television season), a commitment to aggressively promote the Thursday games across its properties, and its plans to utilize CBS Sports' top NFL talent and production staff across all of

8379-428: The end of NFL Europe . Goodell has openly discussed the idea of holding a future Super Bowl game in London. The NFL also investigated the possibility of adding a 17th regular season game to all teams, taking the place of the fourth pre-season game. Waller noted that there would not be 16 different venues for the 17th games. More likely would be a "mini-season ticket" of perhaps four games in one city or country. There

8512-469: The exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football beginning in the 2023 season under the NFL's new broadcasting deals, marking the first time that the NFL had sold one of its main television packages to a digital media company. NFL Network and Fox ceded the final season of the existing contract to Amazon, resulting in its coverage launching in 2022. As before, all of the games are also streamed for free on Twitch, and aired on local broadcast television stations in

8645-408: The fact that Simms remains under contract with CBS through the next several years. However, the network confirmed via press release that Romo's duties would include Sunday and Thursday games. With TNF moving to Fox in 2018, the network announced that its top team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman would call the games, after months of speculation that five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning would be hired by

8778-450: The first new venue for 2025 was announced as Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid , Spain . Tickets for the São Paulo, Brazil, game went on sale beginning on June 10, 2024, and the high demand for them surprised the broker Ticketmaster . Of the approximately 150,000 people who queued online, only about 10% received a ticket. Within the United Kingdom, aside from London, potential candidates for hosting NFL games include

8911-436: The first time a team had done so. 2020 would also have been the final year of games at Wembley Stadium and the final year of the Jaguars' agreement to host annual home games there. On February 28, 2020, it was announced that the Arizona Cardinals would host a game in Mexico City. Their hosting was due to the awarding of Super Bowl LVII to the State Farm Stadium in 2018. The Cardinals would have returned to Estadio Azteca for

9044-433: The first time since 2005's Fútbol Americano game. The date and opponent were not announced at the time. On May 4, 2020, the league announced that all international games for 2020 have been moved back to the home stadiums of the designated home teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic . On April 1, 2021, the Atlanta Falcons announced their intention to play a home game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October 2021. On May 11, it

9177-436: The five-year initiative that will allow marketing methods such as in-person events, sponsorships, and merchandise sales, as well as a high priority to compete in the countries granted in: On February 9, 2022, the NFL confirmed the addition of the Germany Games to the International Series slate, initially with one game each year from 2022 to 2025. Mark Waller had previously stated in 2017 that the only holdup with games in Germany

9310-442: The following week after their game in London. For 2016, the Indianapolis Colts volunteered to play a game the week after their London game, preferring to have their bye week later in the season. The Colts playing the week after London was also done by the NFL as a test to see team fatigue for evaluation of an eventual London franchise. As Mexico City is within the Central Time Zone —eight NFL teams play home games in Central Time and

9443-437: The four-man booth for the 2019 London Games. NFL International Series The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League (NFL) regular season that are played outside the United States . Since 2024, the series has three sub-series: the NFL London Games in the United Kingdom , which have been in place since 2007; the NFL Germany Games in multiple cities,

9576-515: The game broadcasts were titled either Thursday Night Football or Saturday Night Football , depending on the night on which it aired. This format carried over to the 2007 season . At its launch, the package proved highly controversial mainly due to the relative unavailability of NFL Network at the time; the league used the games as leverage to encourage television providers to carry NFL Network on their basic service tiers, rather than in premium, sports-oriented packages that required subscribers to pay

9709-515: The game in the first 90 minutes of sales. The game was aired regionally on Fox . A single game was held in London each year through 2011. Like the 2007 game, each was televised nationally in the United Kingdom, but only regionally in the United States. On January 20, 2012, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that from 2012 to 2014, the St. Louis Rams would play one of their eight home games each year at Wembley Stadium. However, on August 13, 2012,

9842-520: The games in the package to ensure a major improvement in quality over the previous, in-house productions. CBS staff also cited experience with its joint coverage of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament with Turner Sports as an advantage in its collaboration with NFL Network staff, as talent from both networks collaborate on pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage. During the games, a distinct graphics package co-branded with both CBS and NFL Network logos

9975-666: The games that air exclusively on that network. On October 14, 2018, the NFL announced via press release, that the NFL GameDay Morning studio team of Rich Eisen , Steve Mariucci , Kurt Warner, and Michael Irvin , would be calling the Eagles-Jaguars London Game on October 28. They were joined by Melissa Stark , who made her first appearance as a sideline reporter since ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXXVII , and Peter Schrager , from Fox Sports, and NFL Network's Good Morning Football . The network kept

10108-502: The highest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history. In October 2018, the league confirmed four London Games would take place in 2019. Wembley Stadium would host two and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would host the remaining two. The Jacksonville Jaguars would return to Wembley Stadium for the seventh consecutive year in line with their annual commitment. The final schedule was announced in April 2019 alongside that of

10241-579: The home game. On October 11, 2011, the NFL owners approved playing NFL games in Great Britain through 2016. This stated that a home team could visit every year for up to five years but visitors could only visit once every five years. However, in 2015 the Detroit Lions returned to London as visitors in an apparent disregard for this rule. Subsequently, an agreement was reached to play internationally through 2025. The Buffalo Bills received

10374-465: The home team against the San Francisco 49ers. The potential game in China was postponed (the third time the league has postponed playing in China, following failed attempts in 2007 and 2009) to being aimed for the 2019 season to coincide with the league's 100th anniversary; that game ultimately was not scheduled for 2019. The league has indicated that a China game is still not certain because of

10507-459: The hosting of the Super Bowl were required to play a home game internationally. The Los Angeles Rams , upon relocating from St. Louis, agreed to host an international game from 2016 to 2019, while their new stadium was being built. The Los Angeles Chargers , who would share the stadium with the Rams, also hosted an international game in 2018 and 2019, only getting out of the 2017 game because

10640-543: The impromptu change prompted NBC to experiment with using the strategy for the full game. The Skycam Angle was also used for the December 14 telecast between the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts . In early January 2018, Bloomberg reported that ABC/ESPN and Fox Sports had both made bids for the next TNF package. Both Fox and Fox Sports 1 were named as potential outlets for the package in

10773-416: The lack of a fan base in the country; NFL games are played in the middle of the night in China. Other potential problems include whether the stadiums in China are suitable to play an NFL game and Beijing's notoriously poor air quality. The topic of a 2020 preseason game in China was discussed in the 2019 owners' meetings, but no news came out of those meetings. The success of the International Series has led

10906-514: The last one will be in a new market, either Madrid , Spain, or São Paulo , Brazil. The league will not expand the number of international games beyond the five they currently have (the four rotational home teams and the Jaguars) until the 2025 season at the earliest. In December 2023, with the announcement of São Paulo as the third venue of the 2024 international slate it was confirmed that the league planned to host eight international games in 2025,

11039-523: The latter portion of the season. Since 2012, the TNF package has begun during the second week of the NFL season; the NFL Kickoff Game and the NFL on Thanksgiving are both broadcast as part of NBC Sports ' Sunday Night Football contract and are not included in Thursday Night Football , although the Thanksgiving primetime game was previously part of the package from 2006 until 2011. In 2014 ,

11172-494: The league would no longer host games there. The Mexico City date and opponents were not announced at that time, but were later confirmed as the Los Angeles Rams playing as designated home team against the Kansas City Chiefs. This game was subsequently moved to Los Angeles due to poor field conditions at Estadio Azteca. The ensuing game would also attract notoriety as the third-highest scoring game in NFL history, and

11305-625: The league's antitrust exemption, the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 , was written when the NFL regular season ended in mid-December, and as such, it contains specific language that prohibits televising NFL games in most markets on Friday nights and all day on Saturdays between the second week of September and the second week of December, to protect high school and college football. Since most high school and college seasons have ended by mid-December, other than bowl games , there has been little desire to close this loophole, even though

11438-501: The list of international marketing. In 2023, the league added Austria , Switzerland , France and Ireland . In 2024, the league would continue to expand their reach across the globe by putting their footprint in Argentina , Colombia , Japan , Nigeria and South Korea . Teams were selected based on their proposals submitted to the NFL, along with the performance of their marketing domestically. The following teams were granted

11571-572: The main Fox feed, British English, and Spanish options, the Amazon Prime streams offer an alternate commentary feed featuring ESPN anchor Hannah Storm and NFL Network chief correspondent Andrea Kremer —the first all-female commentary team in NFL history. The Twitch streams offer access to the service's standard chat room (along with special football-themed emotes ), an interactive extension, and co-streams featuring prominent personalities, while streams on Amazon Fire devices offer integration with

11704-462: The markets of the opposing teams as per NFL rules. As with all other nationally televised games, they are also carried on radio as part of the NFL on Westwood One Sports package. The NFL Network's coverage was not the first time that NFL games were covered on Thursday or Saturday. ABC televised occasional Thursday night games from 1978 to 1986 as part of its Monday Night Football package . Prior to

11837-538: The network after the 2007 season and his then-HBO colleague Bob Papa , who is also the radio voice of the New York Giants , was brought in to replace him. Collinsworth stayed on until the end of the 2008 season, then left to take over for the retiring John Madden as lead analyst on NBC Sunday Night Football . NFL Network replaced him with Matt Millen , who returned to broadcasting in 2009, and then added former ESPN analyst Joe Theismann for 2010. For 2011, then ESPN and now CBS play-by-play man Brad Nessler took over

11970-487: The network to call their Thursday games. They were joined by Erin Andrews , who normally works with Buck and Aikman on Sundays alongside Kristina Pink and Mike Pereira , one of two rule analysts for Fox. In previous seasons prior to Fox's TNF contract, Buck did not call any NFL games during late October, working Major League Baseball playoff games instead. For 2018, none of Fox's scheduled MLB playoff broadcasts landed on

12103-412: The new contract, ESPN carried a handful of sporadic Thursday night games (usually those displaced from Sunday night ) and the broadcast networks used to air several national games on Saturday afternoons in mid-to-late December after the college football regular season ended. Incidentally, the only reason the league is even allowed to televise football games on Saturday night stems from a legal loophole:

12236-434: The next round of NFL broadcasting agreements from 2023 through 2033. NFL Network, Fox, and Amazon subsequently opted out of the final year of the current agreement, meaning that Amazon's rights would begin in the 2022 NFL season instead. Also in that time, reports have verified that Amazon was close to partnering with NBC Sports to produce their broadcasts, and their contract is likely to be a three-year deal with Amazon having

12369-458: The option to extend it to five. This partnership became materialized as along with lead play-by-play announcer Al Michaels , Sunday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli moved to Amazon as part of collaboration from NBC Sports; Gaudelli explained that his production operated under a notion that they needed to produce a "great" broadcast before they could start "breaking things and being different", as NFL viewers had specific expectations as to how

12502-556: The other on NFL Network. In 2019, both games aired on NFL Network. In 2022 and 2023, with new broadcasting agreements, one NFL London Series game per season aired on ESPN+, with the remaining games on NFL Network. For the NFL Mexico series, with the exception of 2017 which aired on CBS, all games have aired on ESPN as part of Monday Night Football . For the NFL Germany series, all games have aired on NFL Network. For

12635-537: The package. ESPN reported that Fox would be paying around $ 60 million per game—an increase over the estimated $ 45 million per game paid by CBS and NBC under the previous contract, totaling an estimated $ 660 million per season. The Fox deal was terminated a season early in 2021. Amazon renewed its digital rights for the 2018 and 2019 seasons; in contrast to 2017 in which the games required an Amazon Prime subscription, for 2018 and 2019, Amazon also carries game coverage for free on its live streaming platform Twitch . Alongside

12768-603: The participating teams' markets. CBS affiliates were given right of first refusal to air the local simulcast before it is offered to another station (as had occurred in Cincinnati , Ohio where the market's NBC affiliate WLWT aired a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns instead of CBS affiliate WKRC-TV ). A Saturday doubleheader was also added on Week 16: NFL Network aired

12901-763: The past decade, girls have made up less than half a percent of the players of American high school football. Eight states have high schools that sanction the non-contact alternative of flag football , but none sanction tackle football for girls, and a 2021 lawsuit in Utah that claimed the state violated Title IX laws by not sanctioning the sport was struck down. According to the New York Times , in 2006, 70% of high school football players were white and 20% were black. By 2018, those figures were 30% white and 40% black. As of 2016 , black youth are nearly three times more likely than white youth to play tackle football. In

13034-486: The potential for advertising retail products and " Cyber Monday " promotions. The strategy is comparable to Prime Video's acquisition of Premier League soccer fixtures in early-December in the United Kingdom, which similarly leverages holiday shopping activity. On March 28, 2023, following an underwhelming slate of games for the 2022 season that led to a 46% drop in viewership, significant changes were made in response to Amazon's demands for more compelling games. Starting in

13167-422: The regular season has expanded well beyond mid-December since the law's passage. In 2005 , when the NFL negotiated a new set of television contracts, Comcast -owned OLN offered to pay $ 450 million for an eight-year contract to carry NFL prime time games. In exchange, Comcast planned to add NFL Network to its digital cable lineup. The channel was added, but NFL Network decided to air the games itself, foregoing

13300-429: The rest are within two hours of it—no bye week would be needed for those teams, though they may still by chance be scheduled their regular bye week anyway. For 2017, three teams playing in London (the Baltimore Ravens , Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins ), would have games immediately following their International Series game. In all three cases, the teams playing after their International Series game are based on

13433-535: The rest of the regular season. This marked the end of the Los Angeles Chargers', Los Angeles Rams' and Oakland Raiders' annual commitments, with all three moving to new stadiums in 2020. In November 2019, the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins were announced as home teams for 2020 games in either London or Mexico City. On February 4, 2020, it was announced that the Jaguars would play two home games at Wembley Stadium on consecutive weekends in 2020,

13566-412: The rights shifted to Fox , through the 2022 season. In 2016, the NFL also began to sub-license digital streaming rights to the broadcast television portion of the package to third-parties, beginning with Twitter in 2016, and Amazon in 2017—initially on Prime Video , and later also being carried freely on Amazon-owned live streaming platform Twitch . In 2021, it was announced that Amazon had acquired

13699-417: The season. In the following season , all references to Saturday Night Football were dropped, and any games that are not played on Thursday (such as in 2016 , two Christmas weekend games and an NFL International Series game) have since been branded as "special editions" of Thursday Night Football , and later Thursday Night Special or NFL Network Special . As part of new media contracts taking effect in

13832-626: The series' first division game between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins . On July 8, 2015, the NFL and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. announced they had reached a 10-year deal to host at least two London Games a year at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from its opening year in 2019. Additionally, on October 7, 2015, the league announced that a resolution had been passed to schedule international games at additional locations to London until 2025. Subsequently, on October 22, 2015, it

13965-468: The simulcast of the games on NFL Network. The first game produced by NBC Sports was broadcast exclusively on NFL Network on November 3, 2016, while the first game simulcast nationally on NBC aired on November 17. A cappella group Pentatonix recorded a reworked version of their song "Sing" ("Weekend Go") to serve as the opening theme song for NBC's TNF telecasts; NBC also commissioned new instrumental theme music by Jimmy Greco, "Can't Hold Us Down", which

14098-403: The specific arrangements for the International Series games as a test bed for predicting how a London franchise could be made effective from a logistical and competitiveness standpoint. The Jacksonville Jaguars have significant ties to London. They have played more games in the city than any other NFL team, with a total of 12 games between 2013 and 2024. There have been recurring rumors about

14231-475: The success of the package under CBS, the NFL was planning to negotiate a long-term contract for TNF , with CBS, Fox, NBC, and Turner Sports showing interest. The New York Post reported that this deal would also include the sale of a stake in NFL Network itself. On December 16, 2015, it was reported that the NFL was shopping the TNF package as a one-year deal with an option for a second year, similarly to

14364-459: The team and suspended from the NFL earlier in the week following the discovery of footage showing the player physically assaulting his wife, Janay, who was engaged to Rice at the time the security camera footage was recorded), changes were made to pre-game coverage on the first game in order to accommodate additional interviews and discussion related to the incident. Among these changes were the removal of an introductory segment featuring Rihanna (who

14497-637: The team announced that they would not play the proposed games in London in 2013 and 2014 , only the 2012 game against the New England Patriots that had already been scheduled. Goodell had previously proposed the use of certain regular teams in the International Series in an effort to build a fan base for those teams, raising the prospect of a permanent NFL team on the British Isles. An NFL bid to become anchor tenants of London's Olympic Stadium failed. The Jacksonville Jaguars took

14630-518: The team had executed its get out clause to relocate from San Diego after the 2017 International Series games had been announced. The Oakland Raiders , who spent the 2019 off-season in limbo due to the expiration of their stadium deal in Oakland and the lack of an NFL-ready stadium in their eventual home in Las Vegas , also agreed to annual international home games through 2019. NFL rules require

14763-455: The team potentially relocating to London; however, these have been questioned as the team is planning to begin a $ 1.4 billion renovation of their EverBank Stadium after the conclusion of the 2025 season. They are planning to play their entire home schedule away from Jacksonville in 2027 ahead of the project's scheduled completion in 2028. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed in 2023 his interest in having one or two NFL teams based in

14896-529: The telecasts. Features from the previous simulcasts of TNF on Amazon platforms will return, including X-Ray, and broadcasts on Twitch. Amazon also plans alternate broadcasts for Prime Video and Twitch, such as one that features the sports comedy team Dude Perfect . It was reported that Amazon was seeking advertising rates 20% higher than those of Thursday games in past seasons. Per a corporate policy prohibiting advertising that "encourage, glamorize or depict excessive consumption of alcohol" on its platforms, Amazon

15029-413: Was also extended to Week 16 of the season, and included a new Saturday doubleheader split between CBS and NFL Network. On January 18, 2015, CBS and NFL Network extended the same arrangement for a second season. In 2016 and 2017 , the NFL continued with a similar arrangement, but adding NBC as a second rightsholder alongside CBS, with each network airing five games on broadcast television each. In 2018 ,

15162-432: Was announced that Tirico would replace Michaels full-time for NBC's Thursday Night Football games. For 2017, Kurt Warner would similarly fill in for Collinsworth on two non-Thursday games. For 2017, CBS hired Tony Romo as its lead color commentator. Numerous complications needed to be resolved, namely Romo's reluctance to cover both Sunday and Thursday nights as required under the Thursday Night Football contract, and

15295-503: Was confirmed that at least two games per season would remain at Wembley through at least 2020 and that the Jacksonville Jaguars will continue to play a home game there annually throughout the agreement. Another stadium deal was confirmed on November 3, 2015, when the league announced they had reached an agreement with England's Rugby Football Union to host regular season games at Twickenham Stadium from 2016 onwards, with

15428-405: Was discussion that this "17th game" could take effect as early as the 2009 NFL season ; however, 2010 would be the earliest this could be implemented because of concerns about playing on Labor Day or over the 2010 Winter Olympics , the league's rigid scheduling formula, and the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) . League officials were pondering moving a second existing game abroad for

15561-494: Was not prepared to give up a home date. It was televised as part of ESPN's Monday Night Football , marking the first MNF game broadcast from outside the United States, and ESPN's second broadcast from Mexico City since the 2005 Fútbol Americano game (which was televised as part of ESPN's former incarnation of Sunday Night Football ). The 2016 game between the Washington Redskins and Cincinnati Bengals

15694-738: Was originally postponed to the Sunday after Thanksgiving in the afternoon, then postponed a second time to the following Tuesday night, then postponed again to the following Wednesday in the afternoon. The postponements forced the Steelers' Week 13 game against the Washington Football Team to be moved from Sunday, December 6, to Monday, December 7, and as mentioned, the Cowboys-Ravens game a day later, with both games remaining on NFL Network, Fox, and Prime Video. In March 2021, Amazon acquired exclusive rights to TNF as part of

15827-516: Was originally proposed. Additionally, only games between teams that have not played two Thursday games are eligible to be flexed and the same team can’t be flexed both times. The initial NFL Network team consisted of HBO Sports ' Bryant Gumbel as play-by-play announcer, NBC Sports' Cris Collinsworth as the color commentator for the Thursday telecasts, and Dick Vermeil replacing Collinsworth for Saturday telecasts. In 2007, Collinsworth replaced Vermeil alongside Gumbel for all games. Gumbel left

15960-715: Was performed by members of the orchestra from the Broadway musical Hamilton . Both were retained for NBC's games in 2017. On April 4, 2017, it was announced that Amazon.com had acquired non-exclusive streaming rights to the ten broadcast television games for the 2017 season over their Amazon Prime Video service, under a deal valued at $ 50 million, a five-fold increase over the $ 10 million paid by Twitter. The streams were exclusive to paid Prime subscribers. The deal includes $ 30 million worth of promotion. Amazon planned several special features for its inaugural game, including broadcasting alternate feeds with Spanish , Portuguese , and

16093-472: Was produced by Drive Studio, inspired by Times Square to reflect its New York City-based studio programming; unlike CBS and NBC, Fox utilized the same in-game presentation it uses for all other NFL games broadcast by the network. For 2019, Fox announced that it would produce all of its games in 1080p upscaled to 4K, with hybrid log–gamma (HLG) high-dynamic-range color , beginning with its season premiere September 26, 2019. The telecasts were distributed via

16226-425: Was reported by multiple sources that Fox had won the package. The next day, the NFL officially announced that Fox had acquired the broadcast television rights to the TNF package under a five-year deal lasting from 2018 through 2022 (which is aligned with the conclusion of the NFL's other television deals). Fox would air eleven games per season in simulcast with NFL Network, and Fox Sports would produce all games within

16359-623: Was reported that the Falcons and Jaguars would each host a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This was confirmed the following day. This would mark the Jaguars' eighth home game in London but their first at Tottenham. The National Football League announced the International Home Marketing Areas initiative, where 25 NFL teams have been selected to freely market their team across eight countries, starting in January 2022. In May 2022, two more countries were added to

16492-438: Was reported that the NFL was considering splitting the TNF package across multiple broadcasters in tandem with the possibility of expanding the overall package to 17 games. It was also reported that ESPN and Turner Sports were not interested in the package due to its short-term nature, and that Fox was attempting to outbid CBS. On February 1, 2016, the NFL announced that TNF would be shared between CBS, NBC, and NFL Network for

16625-407: Was reported that the NFL was planning to sub-license a package of up to eight Thursday Night Football games to another broadcaster for the 2014 season . The NFL had negotiated with its existing broadcast partners, along with Turner Sports. These eight games were to be simulcast by NFL Network, and reports indicated that ESPN planned to place the games on ABC in the event it won the rights, bringing

16758-425: Was revealed that Twitter had acquired non-exclusive worldwide digital streaming rights to the ten broadcast television TNF games. The collaboration will also include streaming content on Twitter's Periscope service, such as behind the scenes access. This also gave NBC a rare distinction of holding two primetime NFL packages, with them already holding Sunday Night games . Rogers Media , who owns television rights to

16891-536: Was similarly assaulted by fellow performer Chris Brown in 2009) performing her song " Run This Town ". Following complaints by Rihanna on Twitter regarding the removal, the song was pulled entirely from future broadcasts. The rights were negotiated under a one-year contract valued at $ 275 million; on January 18, 2015, the NFL announced that it would renew the arrangement with CBS for the 2015 season, with its value increasing to around $ 300 million. In November 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that in response to

17024-529: Was simulcast nationally on both CBS and NBC , in addition to NFL Network and the local stations that the game was sold to, following concerns from politicians and other critics. Starting in 2008 , NFL Network eliminated all but one of the Saturday night games and started their Thursday night package three weeks earlier. This was done to accommodate the earlier schedule and the league's antitrust exemption that prohibits Saturday games from being held for most of

17157-545: Was televised by either CBS or Fox through their existing broadcast agreements with the NFL. For the NFL London series, from 2014 to 2016 and in 2018 and 2021, one game aired outside of these agreements. In 2014, the selected game was streamed by Yahoo! Sports . From 2015 to 2016 and in 2018 and 2021, the selected game was aired by NFL Network . In 2017 and 2019, two NFL London Series games aired outside of these agreements. In 2017, one game aired on Yahoo! Sports with

17290-440: Was the first International Series game to go into overtime, the first to end as a tie, and had at the time the highest attendance of all International Series games (later surpassed by the 2017 game between the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars , which drew an attendance of 84,592). For 2017 the series underwent a partial rebrand with four games in London branded as NFL London Games and one game in Mexico City branded as

17423-527: Was the first NFL broadcast to intentionally use the Skycam as its primary camera angle, as opposed to the usual sideline camera that has been used since telecasts of NFL games began in 1939. NBC Sports had previously switched to a skycam-only presentation for portions of two Sunday night games earlier that season because of fog and smoke (and, sixteen years prior, during its coverage of the XFL ); positive reaction to

17556-459: Was used, certain players on each team wore microphones, and 4K cameras were used to allow zoom-in shots during instant replays . With the move of selected games to CBS, media executives expected more major match-ups to appear on Thursday Night Football than in previous years in order to attract better viewership; in the past, Thursday Night Football had been criticized for often featuring games between lesser and poorer-performing teams. CBS and

17689-610: Was what he dubbed "an inventory management thing," in that with four games already being played in London each year, adding additional games in Germany atop those four would pose logistical problems. The league began gauging interest from German cities regarding potential games in June 2021; the league viewed Germany as an ideal candidate for expansion of the International Series because of the country's high viewership for NFL games (2.2 million people in Germany watched Super Bowl LV ) and

#801198