NFL set for first-ever game in Melbourne, Australia, in international expansion

The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams are heading to Australia, marking the longest-ever distance two NFL teams have traveled for a game.It's all part of the league's push to expand American football globally. A record nine international regular-season games will be played in 2026 – kicking off in Melbourne, the city's first NFL game, and followed by inaugural match-ups in Rio de Janeiro and Paris. The schedule also brings professional football to London, Madrid, Munich and Mexico City. NFL owners have already approved 10 international games for the 2027 season – the maximum number of games the league can play outside the United States per its current collective bargaining agreement with players. While NFL games are consistently the most-watched programming on television, the vast majority of the league's interest is American. For some context, last year's Week 1 game in Sao Paulo, Brazil — streamed on YouTube — between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers drew 18.5 million viewers in the U.S. and just 1.2 million viewers internationally.That delta is what's driving NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to seek global growth. Goodell has previously said he'd like t...