{"id":769013,"date":"2026-06-29T14:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/769013\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:40:09","slug":"after-patriots-kraft-suggestion-nfl-eyeing-international-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/769013\/","title":{"rendered":"After Patriots’ Kraft suggestion, NFL eyeing international expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL<\/a> reigns as America\u2019s most popular sports league, but it has no intention of stopping there. The league wants to become a truly global brand, and it\u2019s taking major steps to make that happen. One of those steps in 2026 is the first-ever Australian International Series game. Now, it appears a future international destination may already be on the league\u2019s radar after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft floated the idea of playing in Scotland.<\/p>\n

A recent ESPN report<\/a> indicates the NFL is receptive to Kraft\u2019s desire for the Patriots to play in Scotland. While it won\u2019t happen in 2026, the report suggests league officials view the idea favorably and have begun discussing it as a future possibility.<\/p>\n

MORE: After sitting out voluntary workouts, Patriots star defender Christian Gonzalez expected to hold in<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSources with the NFL said this isn\u2019t an \u2018active\u2019 situation, so it would currently fall in the \u2018conversation\u2019 phase. The league views the possibility as appealing in the future, especially with [NFL commissioner Roger] Goodell\u2019s stated desire to expand the international schedule beyond the record nine games this season,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Mike Reiss reported.<\/p>\n

\"\"Feb 5, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; From left: Los Angeles Rams president Kevin Demoff, NFL executive vice president of club business, league events and international Peter O\u2019Reilly, Victoria minister for tourism, sport and major events Steve Dimopoulos and NFL Australia and New Zealand general manager Charlotte Offord pose at the NFL International press conference to announce the 2026 Melbourne Game at the Super Bowl LIX Media Center at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The NFL once limited its International Series to just a handful of locations. In 2026, however, the league will play games in seven different international markets, not including previous host cities that aren\u2019t on this season\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n

Last year, Ireland became the eighth country to host an NFL International Series game. The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Minnesota Vikings on the Emerald Isle in the league\u2019s first regular-season game there. The event was widely viewed as a success, and the NFL has already expressed interest in returning.<\/p>\n

MORE: Lions CB Terrion Arnold could lose millions even if he\u2019s acquitted of charges<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how soon Scotland could join the NFL International Series. The Ireland game came together relatively quickly, thanks in part to the Steelers\u2019 ownership group\u2019s deep ties to the country. The league could potentially follow a similar blueprint if it decides to bring a game to Scotland.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sep 27, 2025; Dublin, Ireland; A general overall aerial view of Croke Park. The stadium is the site of the 2025 NFL Dublin Game between the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The NFL\u2019s push to expand its International Series has opened the door to countless future destinations. If Scotland eventually joins the schedule, where should the league look next?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL reigns as America\u2019s most popular sports league, but it has no intention of stopping there. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":769014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,1718,514,185146,33478,82],"class_list":["post-769013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-international-series","tag-robert-kraft","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}