NFL Returns to Global Spotlight as League Prepares for 2026 International Series

NFL Takes the Game Abroad

The NFL is preparing to bring regular-season football to Brazil as part of the league's 2026 International Series.

The Dallas Cowboys are scheduled to face the Baltimore Ravens at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, with the game set for the following weekend. The NFL confirmed the matchup and broadcast information in an update published Friday.

The game is part of the league's continuing effort to stage regular-season contests outside the United States.

For American football fans, international games create a different environment from traditional home-and-away matchups because the competing teams play before audiences in markets where NFL football has historically been less established.

Brazil Hosts Regular-Season Football

Maracanã Stadium is one of Brazil's most famous sporting venues and is traditionally associated with soccer.

Hosting an NFL regular-season game there places American football inside a venue strongly connected to Brazil's dominant sporting culture.

The Cowboys and Ravens will therefore enter a setting that differs substantially from their usual NFL stadium environments.

The game is also part of a broader international strategy that has seen the league stage regular-season games in several countries.

The NFL International Series

The International Series is designed to expand the NFL's global reach by bringing regular-season games to audiences outside the United States.

The league's official information identifies international games as a way of expanding the NFL's presence in global markets.

International games require additional logistical planning.

Teams must travel long distances, adjust to different time zones and prepare for unfamiliar stadium environments.

The league also has to coordinate broadcast arrangements, field operations and local event infrastructure.

Those factors make an international regular-season game different from an ordinary domestic road game.

Why Brazil Matters

Brazil is one of the world's largest sports markets and has a substantial audience for American football.

The decision to stage a regular-season NFL game there gives the league a major opportunity to introduce the sport to additional fans.

For the participating teams, the trip also provides an international exposure opportunity.

The Cowboys have a particularly large national and international following, while the Ravens enter the event as one of the NFL's established franchises.

The matchup therefore combines the league's international ambitions with two recognizable teams.

The Travel Challenge

International travel creates practical challenges for NFL players.

Teams must manage long flights, time-zone changes and changes in normal practice schedules.

Coaches also have to organize preparation around the unusual travel requirements.

Players, meanwhile, must maintain normal training and recovery routines while adapting to the new environment.

These factors become part of the competitive preparation for international games.

The league has developed established procedures for its overseas contests, but the travel remains an important part of the experience.

A Global Sports Strategy

The Brazil game is part of a larger effort by the NFL to build a global audience.

International regular-season games allow the league to reach fans who may otherwise experience NFL football primarily through television and digital media.

The games also provide an opportunity for local communities to engage directly with professional American football.

The long-term effect of international expansion can be measured through audience growth, merchandise, media consumption and participation in local football programs, although individual games do not determine those outcomes by themselves.

The Road to Rio

The Cowboys-Ravens matchup gives the 2026 NFL season another international milestone.

With Maracanã serving as the setting, the game will place two American franchises within one of the world's most recognizable sporting environments.

The league's official schedule confirms that the game will be available to U.S. viewers through CBS, while NFL+ subscribers in the United States will also have access through supported devices.

The event reflects the NFL's continuing expansion beyond its traditional American footprint.

For players and fans, the Brazil matchup represents another chapter in the league's effort to make American football an increasingly international sport.