A Game Without Borders

By Kyle Mucerino

Ronald Smith has been waiting years to see the Rams play overseas.

The 69-year-old longtime fan from Allen, Texas, has wanted to attend a game in London since they started playing them as the original international hub for the NFL regular season. Instead, when the league announced its first contest in Australia, Smith jumped on the chance to go even farther.

This fall, the retired financial director and his wife will spend three weeks traveling through Australia and New Zealand, with a stop in Melbourne for the matchup against the 49ers. The trip includes an NFL Experience package, costing around $12,000, complete with hotel accommodations, game tickets and other events.

The excursion is the latest chapter in a fandom that began when he was a tween in El Paso, Texas, watching Rams games on a Mexican television station broadcast from Juárez. More than five decades later, he'll be nearly 9,000 miles from home, sitting in a stadium on the other side of the world.

As for what he expects from the first-ever NFL game in Australia?

“It’s going to be interesting,” Smith said. “So I don’t know. I’m expecting it to be more of just excitement. I think most of the fans just want to see a good game.”

Smith's journey is an extreme example of what the NFL hopes to create as it takes its most ambitious step yet into international markets. In 2026, the league will feature nine regular-season games across seven countries, including the first ones in Australia and France.

For 15 seasons, beginning in 1991, the NFL tried to build professional football overseas. It invested hundreds of millions of dollars, created franchises in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and helped develop future NFL stars like two-time MVP and Super Bowl champion quarterback Kurt Warner. Then, in 2007, it shut the league down.

“When I went over there, they didn't love NFL football for sure,” Frank Costa said. “It’s a rugby country. It's a soccer country. They weren't really keen on NFL football.”

Costa should know.

The former University of Miami quarterback spent the 1996 season and part of 1997 playing for the London Monarchs, one of the teams in the NFL's experiment to establish professional American football in Europe. He remembers a league trying to build a devoted audience, something that, at least in London, didn’t exist yet.

“I didn't feel like there was a ton of interest,” Costa said. “They were trying to build it. The NFL was definitely trying to build it, but I'm not sure how much traction they got, certainly not in London. It wasn't huge.”

Nobody harbored illusions about American football’s popularity overseas.

“Put it this way, me and the fellas were going to places, we weren't getting stopped in the street because we were playing for the Monarchs,” Costa said. “They didn't really care about us.”

Thirty years after Costa and the Monarchs took the field in London, the NFL is calling an audible.

The league is no longer asking foreign fans to embrace a developmental spinoff. It’s now delivering its flagship product directly to them, featuring marquee stars and premier franchises.

“We operate with that challenger mindset,” said Matthew Shapiro, senior vice president of global events and marketing for the NFL. “And it's certainly a bit of a different mindset than one that we sometimes have here domestically.”

The NFL’s European ambitions trace back to the 1970s with the proposed Intercontinental Football League — a six-team European coalition spearheaded by Dallas Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm and Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis. Though economic turbulence, political unrest and the collapse of sponsor Pan American Airlines doomed the project before its planned 1975 kickoff, the vision survived.

In 1991, that groundwork materialized as the World League of American Football (WLAF). Designed to satisfy domestic demand for spring football while cultivating an international fanbase, the league doubled as a crucial player-development lab. NFL franchises allocated fringe players overseas to gain the full-speed game experience no offseason practice could replicate.

In 1995, the NFL refined the experiment, rebranding it as NFL Europe — a purely European venture featuring franchises in Barcelona, Frankfurt, London, Düsseldorf, Scotland and Amsterdam. The goal was to give international audiences teams they could claim as their own, and test borderline NFL talent in real fire.

“It was a learning experience for all,” said Michael Signora, the NFL's senior vice president of football and international communications. “What that league did was give people a chance to see the sport up close and fall in love with the game. And for football here, it was invaluable — it provided so many players who went on to great NFL careers their first taste of competitive action.”

For players like Samuel Simmons, NFL Europe was a lifeline.

Drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, the former Northwestern receiver suffered a severe ankle injury late in the 2004 season. He was picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers and given an opportunity to prove himself to be the same player he was before.

“They were very transparent,” Simmons said. “The expectation was getting back healthy, going over there, playing and then going straight into training camp. At the time, it was most definitely a pipeline developmental league for the NFL.”

Smith was allocated by the Steelers to play for the Frankfurt Galaxy in the spring of 2005. Unlike London, Frankfurt fans flocked to the Waldstadion, leading the league in average attendance during the 2005 season with 29,000 fans per contest. Many experts attribute the fandom to a strong U.S. military presence in Germany and local curiosity, as well as what Simmons described as, "the party-style atmosphere that American football brings.” That fanfare was a big reason why by its final season, NFL Europe consisted of only one team outside of Germany — the Amsterdam Admirals — and five teams from within (Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Cologne).

“It was beautiful — it felt like a vacation, while at the same time it was my job,” Simmons said. “The fans were very welcoming. If it wasn't a sellout, it felt like a sellout. There was just a thirst at that time for American football to be played.”

Yet even amid Frankfurt's roaring crowds, Simmons recognized the fundamental limitation of the enterprise. German fans loved the atmosphere, but the league lacked the star power that defines modern global sports entertainment.

“We obviously were trying to fight our way back into the NFL — we didn't bring the spectacle of a big name,” Simmons said. “Spectators were showing up to support American football and just enjoying the party-style atmosphere. But today, you see current spectators flocking to the superstars of the league.”

As a business venture, the losses were insurmountable. Part of the problem stemmed from the lack of any substantial TV contract established locally in Europe, a primary source of revenue for present-day leagues. Additionally, the logistics of housing rosters of American players in European hotels for months, covering travel expenses and providing full medical coverage proved too costly.

The league lost $400 million between 1991 and 2007. Yet while NFL Europe folded, it reshaped the NFL’s philosophy on global growth.

By the mid-2000s, rapid advances in international broadcasting, streaming and social media made NFL games accessible worldwide and affected the way fans were consuming the product. Time zone differences mattered less as more fans began to digest NFL storylines and players through highlights and clips on social media platforms like YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram and Twitter. There wasn't a need for a developmental middleman any longer, especially one that loses money.

"We realized that fans could see our best product live — which is the NFL — anytime they wanted it internationally," Signora said. "NFL Europe was a fun experience and did a great job introducing the game. But it wasn't the 'real thing.'"

The shift was immediate. In 2007 — the same year NFL Europe was shuttered — the NFL launched its International Series at London’s Wembley Stadium, replacing allocated prospects with A-list stars.

“[My teammates and I] were either borderline guys or out of the league,” Costa said. “That's a lot different than sending Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes over there.”

Signora views NFL Europe as a mandatory chapter in the NFL’s globalization more than a failed investment. "Where we are today with international fandom, that story can't be told without NFL Europe helping lay that groundwork," he said.

Entering markets like Brazil, Spain and Germany, the league isn't trying to displace the world's game. It just wants a seat at the table.

“Our goal is to become a top-three sport in those markets,” Shapiro said. “We don't have illusions that we are going to dethrone soccer in Brazil. But we do think there's an opportunity to be up there in terms of those non-endemic sports and make American football really popular in those places.”

I learned that cultural reality firsthand in 2022 when I lined up for American football clubs in Zaragoza, Spain, and later in Recife, Brazil. Overseas, I quickly realized I didn't just play "football" — I played "American football." More often than not, the immediate reaction from locals was a puzzled: “What is that?”

“We certainly acknowledge that in other parts of the world, we have a lot of room to grow,” Signora said. “That's why we operate with a mentality of asking: How are we culturally relevant in those places? How are we respectful of those cultures and the way they operate?”

* * *

The grassroots reality of the game abroad can be unadorned. Four years ago, 40-hours after leaving Los Angeles for the northeast coast of Brazil, I hopped onto the rented charter bus for the Recife Mariners. Four-hours later through a bumpy and rainy ride, we arrived at a venue that looked less like a football stadium and more like an abandoned soccer complex dropped into the middle of a tropical forest. The fields appeared to be covered in more dirt than grass.

That’s where we’re playing? I thought. This looks like the prisoners' field from “The Longest Yard.”

Vila Olímpica de Macaíba in Macaíba, Brazil and team bus, from July 31, 2022. (KYLE MUCERINO)

Eighty of us shuffled off two buses into a dilapidated warehouse that served as our locker room. With more than half the walls torn away, I found myself dodging indoor puddles while putting on my shoulder pads, constantly moving my gear to keep it dry. As I taped my wrists and buckled my chin strap, I introduced myself to teammates I was meeting for the first time.

The field (left) and “locker room” (right) at Vila Olímpica de Macaíba in Macaíba, Brazil, from July 31, 2022. (KYLE MUCERINO)

A few minutes after suiting up, I spotted kids wearing American football jerseys chasing each other along the sidelines as fans started to fill the bleachers. Food stands started to appear and referees walked the field. The familiar ritual I had experienced a thousand times back home was coming to life thousands of miles away.

* * *

A little over two years after I stepped onto that mud-soaked field in Recife, the NFL arrived in Latin America, bringing the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers to São Paulo for a historic Friday night kickoff. The league returned the following year, cementing Brazil as a primary target.

Spain followed. Paris and Melbourne came next.

In the land of soccer, Brazil now boasts the third-largest NFL fanbase in the world, behind only the U.S. and Mexico with an estimated 36 million fans.

“It starts with strategic groundwork to identify our priority markets across the world,” Shapiro said. “There are hundreds of countries out there, but we need a strategic focus where we can have the biggest impact. Spain and Brazil are two of those.”

A key pillar of the NFL's strategy is the Global Markets Program, launched in 2022 to give individual franchises direct ownership over international growth. The initiative grants clubs marketing rights in specific countries to build localized fanbases through watch parties, commercial partnerships and youth flag football programs. All 32 NFL teams now hold rights across 22 countries, spanning markets as diverse as Austria, Greece, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates.

Parallel to brand-building is talent discovery. In 2017, the league established the International Player Pathway (IPP) program to identify and groom elite global athletes for American football.

Selected athletes undergo a rigorous 10-week development process before participating in a leaguewide scouting showcase. To incentivize participation, NFL teams receive an additional roster spot during training camp, along with an international practice squad exemption for the regular season. The pipeline seems to be working. 70 athletes have signed with NFL clubs since its inception, with 22 currently occupying active roster or practice squad spots.

The fastest way to capture a nation’s attention is to give it a hero.

Few players exemplify that strategy better than Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata. A former rugby league player from Australia who had never played a down of American football, Mailata transformed through the IPP into a multi-million-dollar anchor on the offensive line and a household name back home.

“The importance of seeing players come from the place where you live can really drive a lot of fandom, pride and ownership,” Signora said. “Jordan Mailata is one example — Australian fans flocked to the Eagles because of him.”

The NFL’s mission is to replicate Mailata’s success across the globe. Every international athlete who makes a roster gives fans back home a reason to care, converting passing curiosity into patriotic pride, emotional investment, and, ultimately, lifelong loyalty.

It’s a strategy other North American sports leagues have already proven can work.

There is no shortage of international starpower throughout Major League Baseball and the NBA. Baseball has deep roots throughout Latin America and Japan, where established professional leagues produce generations of elite talent. The NBA’s global shift is even more pronounced. International superstars like Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have dominated the league, with an American-born player failing to win the MVP award since 2018.

For the NFL, producing internationally recognizable stars represents a clear blueprint for building lasting fandom abroad.

"We certainly know we have a long way to go, but we see the success of what MLB is doing," Shapiro said. "Look at the Dodgers and their massive presence in Japan thanks to their stars. Look at the NBA and their recent MVPs. We have room to grow, but it's a major focus — and it starts with participation at a young age."

Creating international stars begins by introducing children to the game.

That's why another key cornerstone of the league's global playbook is the rapid expansion of flag football. The NFL has invested heavily in the non-contact version of the sport as an accessible, low-barrier entry point for countries with no gridiron history.

In fact, last December the NFL’s 32 clubs voted to invest “up to $32 million” to partner with and operate a professional flag football league. Additionally, the sport will be making its Olympic debut in 2028, lobbied for by the league in partnership with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).

"With kids, getting footballs in their hands at a young age, part of the physical education curriculum in so many countries right now — that's another thing that has produced value," Signora said. "This is long term for us."

NFL Flag programs now span from North America across Europe, Asia and Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand, China, Germany and the U.K. The foundational goal is to build generations of fans who grow up playing and understanding the sport.

For decades, the NFL struggled to figure out how to export American football.

First, it tried exporting leagues.

Now, it exports the real thing — featuring flagship games, headlining stars, grassroots participation and year-round engagement.

Whether that strategy creates lifelong fandom where football has never been a part of the culture remains an open question. But inside NFL headquarters, no one expects the answer overnight.

With roughly 340 million people in the United States and over eight billion worldwide, the league sees vast untapped potential for global growth. And it certainly has the deep pockets to chase it.

“This is not going to happen immediately,” Signora said. “But the league office, club ownership, everyone is fully invested in this vision to grow the game on a truly global scale.”