Image courtesy of NFL.com
So the NFL is really going all-in on this global thing. They just dropped the updated Global Markets Program for 2026, and now 29 of the league's 32 teams are assigned to international markets across 22 countries. The whole idea is to give teams marketing rights in specific countries so they can try to build fanbases, sell jerseys, and eventually play games overseas.
Italy is the newest market this year, with the Browns and Saints getting those rights. The Rams are also heading to Melbourne for the first-ever NFL game in Australia, which is pretty cool.
The Most Global Teams
Some teams are spread across the world. Others got a single country. Here's every team ranked by how many international markets they've been assigned to.
Tier 1: Global Powerhouses (6-7 countries)
Tier 2: Strong International Presence (4-5 countries)
Tier 3: Growing Globally (3 countries)
Tier 4: Getting Started (2 countries)
Tier 5: Single Market (1 country)
Not in the program: Bills, Bengals, Titans
Our Take
This is good for the league overall, and we get why they're doing it. More countries, more games, more eyeballs. The NFL wants to be a global sport, and this is their way of structuring that push.
But we're not totally sold on the approach. Fandom doesn't really work this way. Nobody assigned the Lakers to a country, and they're one of the biggest brands on the planet. The Yankees, the Dodgers, Real Madrid. Those fanbases grew organically through winning and star power. That's just how sports work.
We get why the Chiefs and Rams are leading the way with 7 countries each. Mahomes just won three Super Bowls, and the Rams are in LA. Those make sense. But assigning the Chargers to Greece or the Saints to France isn't going to move the needle the way a viral highlight or an international game would.
The NFL would be better off just pushing the league as a whole and letting the big brands do the heavy lifting. Play more international games, keep making the product entertaining, and let star power do what it's always done. Twenty-nine of 32 teams are in the program now, with only the Bills, Bengals, and Titans sitting out. The commitment is there. We just think the growth will happen more naturally than a spreadsheet of country assignments.
Image courtesy of NFL.com. Team assignments sourced from the NFL's official Global Markets Program announcement.