Tag: nfl international

Broncos won’t play in Mexico or Germany in 2022; London still possible

The Broncos won’t play in Mexico or Germany this fall, but they’re still a candidate to be a “road” team in England this season.

The Denver Broncos want to play a game in Mexico — their international home market — but the team won’t travel south for a game this season.

The NFL announced “home” teams for 2022 international games on Monday, and the Arizona Cardinals will be the “host” at Estadio Azteca this fall. The Broncos are scheduled to face the Cards this year, but at home, not on the road.

Denver won’t play in Germany this season, either. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been named the “home” team for the Munich game, and the Bucs are not among the Broncos’ 2022 opponents.

Traveling to England remains a possibility, though.

The New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars will “host” games in London this fall and while the Saints aren’t among Denver’s opponents, the Broncos are scheduled to face the Jags on the road this season.

That Denver-Jacksonville matchup could be a potential candidate for the Jaguars’ game at Wembley Stadium.

The Broncos were scheduled to play a “road” game in England against the Atlanta Falcons in 2020 but that game was moved stateside due to COVID-19. Denver now has a chance for a London game in 2022.

The NFL will announce the road teams for this year’s international games when the complete regular season schedule is released later this offseason.

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Bears awarded Spain, UK as new International Home Market Areas

The Bears have been awarded Spain and the UK for international home markets, where they can engage with fans and sell sponsorship rights.

The NFL announced a new International Home Market Areas (IHMA) initiative, where the Chicago Bears have been awarded Spain and the United Kingdom for international markets, where they’ll be allowed to engage with fans and sell sponsorship rights.

The Bears will be permitted to engage with fans and sell sponsorship rights both in Spain and the U.K. Chicago is one of two teams awarded Spain and one of six teams awarded the U.K.

Here’s an excerpt from the release that details what the IHMA program entails:

Under the leadership of the International Committee, the NFL announced today that 18 teams have been granted access to 26 International Home Marketing Areas (IHMA) across eight different countries. This ground-breaking, new initiative grants clubs access to international territories for marketing, fan engagement and commercialization as part of an important, longterm, strategic effort to enable clubs to build their global brands while driving NFL fan growth internationally.

“Being awarded the Spain and United Kingdom International Home Marketing Areas by the league is an honor,” said Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey. “We’re passionate about growing the game of football abroad and continuing to develop the robust Chicago Bears fanbase internationally.”

The U.K. makes a ton of sense for the Bears, as they have a massive following across the pond. The Bears have played three international games in London dating back to 1986, when they beat the Dallas Cowboys 17-6 in a preseason game at Wembley Stadium.

Chicago has played in London twice since then — back in 2011, when they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-18 at Wembley Stadium, and most recently in 2019, losing to the Las Vegas Raiders 24-21 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Every NFL team to play internationally once every 8 years

Every NFL team will play internationally on rotation:

In 2021, the NFL is bringing international games back. The ensuing year will see a start to further the league’s commitment to do so.

NFL Football Operations announced on Friday that every team in the league will start a rotation regarding such games. Every team will play in another country at least one time every eight years:

Each year the NFL’s schedule makers conduct a similar task regarding divisional foes. Every season a team will alternate which division in the AFC and NFC it will face. Now the international play is an added layer to that.

In 2021, the NFL will be conducting two games in London. Those will feature the Dolphins vs. Jaguars and Falcons vs. Jets. Both will be held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international NFL games did not occur in 2020.

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Kareem Jackson says Broncos should be ‘first in line’ to play in London in 2021

Broncos safety Kareem Jackson wants to play in London next season.

In response to COVID-19, the NFL has announced that all games in 2020 will be played in the United States. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the league was planning to play two games in Mexico and four games in England this fall.

The Broncos were expected to face the Falcons in London this season but that game will now be played in Atlanta. Denver safety Kareem Jackson tweeted that he was “sick” about the news.

The Broncos haven’t played in England since 2020. Denver fans across the pond are eager for the team to return to the United Kingdom.

Next year, the Broncos will have a road game against an AFC South opponent who finishes in the same place in their respective division.

So if Denver and the Jaguars both finish second in their divisions, they will be scheduled to play in 2021. That game could be a candidate to be played in London. The Broncos are also scheduled to face Jacksonville on the road in 2022.

Denver’s finalized schedule with dates and times will be announced on Thursday. We already know who Denver’s 2020 opponents will be.

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Broncos won’t play Falcons in London this season

The Falcons won’t get an international game against the Broncos in London this fall. Instead, the game will be played in Atlanta.

The Denver Broncos will not face the Atlanta Falcons at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England this season. Instead, the Falcons will host the Broncos at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

In response to COVID-19, the NFL announced Monday that all 2020 games will be scheduled to be played in the United States. The league had been planning to schedule two games in Mexico City and four games in London before the coronavirus pandemic.

“After considerable analysis, we believe the decision to play all our games domestically this season is the right one for our players, our clubs, and all our fans in the US, Mexico and UK,” NFL Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Christopher Halpin said in a statement.

“We greatly appreciate the support of our governmental and stadium partners in Mexico and the United Kingdom, who all agree with this decision, and we look forward to returning for games in both countries in the 2021 season.”

If the Broncos had traveled to face the Falcons in the U.K., it would have been considered a “road” game for Denver. The Broncos haven’t played in England since 2010, when wide receiver Brandon Lloyd caught seven passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in a 24-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Wembley Stadium. There were 83,941 fans in attendance for that contest.

Denver’s complete 2020 schedule has not yet been announced but we do know which teams the Broncos will play this fall. The NFL’s schedule is expected to be announced later this week.

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NFL, Bills won’t play international games in 2020

Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, won’t play in Mexico City in 2020.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has already altered the NFL’s offeseason. In at least one sense, it appears it will change their regular season, too.

It was previously reported that the NFL will release their 2020 regular season schedule this week. The hope is that fans will be in attendance when the season begins. But due to the pandemic, the NFL won’t be playing their usual international slate of games next year, per various reports on Monday.

The NFL typically plays a few games in London and then down in Mexico City. While the Bills don’t typically have a game scheduled for international play, they were a candidate to do so in 2020.

While we don’t know the team’s schedule, we know who the Bills will be playing next season. Among them, the Arizona Cardinals on the road. The Cards were a team that were slated to host an international game in Mexico next season, meaning the Bills had a 1/8 chance to be the team traveling south of the border. Instead, it sounds like they’ll just head southwest.

 

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Daily Mail: NFL not expected to play international games in 2020

The NFL is not expected to schedule international games this year, according to a London-based newspaper.

The NFL is not expected to announce international games when the 2020 schedule is released later this week, according to a report from the Daily Mail, a London-based newspaper.

It’s unclear if the Daily Mail got word of the NFL’s plans early or if the paper is merely reporting based on speculation.

The Denver Broncos were expected to play in Atlanta Falcons in London this fall before COVID-19 turned sports — and international travel — upside down. Now the status of that international game is uncertain.

In response to the Daily Mail‘s report, a Broncos source told The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala that the team has “not heard from the league one way or the other” about the status of the NFL’s international schedule.

If the international schedule goes on as planned, the Broncos will likely have a “road” game against the Falcons in England. If the NFL decides to keep all games stateside, Denver will travel to Atlanta for the contest.

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Vic Fangio assuming Broncos will play Falcons in England this season

Broncos coach Vic Fangio is assuming Denver will play a “road” game against the Falcons in London in 2020.

During his media availability at the NFL combine earlier this week, Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio said that he assumes his team will play the Atlanta Falcons in London, England this fall.

“I’m assuming,” Fangio said, according to The Athletic‘s Nicki Jhabvala. “I’m not announcing.”

Fangio clarified that he wasn’t announcing the game because the NFL hasn’t yet finalized its international schedule for 2020. It sure sounds like Denver will have a “road” game against Atlanta in England, though.

“I think we’re playing against the Broncos — I think, from what I’ve heard — but I’m not sure,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said during an interview with talkSPORT in February. “So we’ll see. We’re excited about it.”

Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis has been campaigning for an international game for several years now.

“I’m basically begging to get it because I think it’d be very good for us to play there,” Ellis said in December, adding that the contest would be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which holds over 62,000 fans.

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Podcast: Previewing Jags’ QBs, thoughts on McAdoo addition, and Khan’s new London comments

James and Smith preview the most important position on the Jags’ roster (quarterback) and how Ben McAdoo could help the position.

Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and I jumped back in the recording booth for episode No. 2 of the “Bleav in Jags Podcast.”

This week we previewed the Jags’ quarterbacks as Gardner Minshew II and Nick Foles are set to battle for the No. 1 spot. We dove into their pending competition, when a starter could be named, who could be the favorite, and much more.

Afterward, we discussed the Jags addition of Ben McAdoo and the impact he could have in the quarterbacks room, whether it’s on Minshew, Foles, or both.

With the saga between Khan and the fans of the Jaguars still fresh on everyone’s minds, we also discussed his recent comments to via the Black News Channel, as he stated he wants to take the pressure off fans in Jacksonville with the games played in London.

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Mark Lamping says Jags’ most important priority is to bring a Super Bowl to Jacksonville

Jags president Mark Lamping joined Sirius XM Radio to explain Jags’ decision to play an additional game in London.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ fanbase has been on edge the last few days after the team announced an additional 2020 game in London, and the fallout has made Jags president Mark Lamping a busy man this week. On Thursday, Lamping went on air with SiriusXM NFL Radio to explain the reasoning behind the organization’s decision on a national stage and to reiterate what Jags fans have frequently been told: the team will remain in Jacksonville.  

“Shad Khan’s been very clear,” Lamping said about the team’s owner to SiriusXM NFL Radio. “The most important thing he wants to do is bring a Super Bowl to Duval County, and obviously we have a lot of work to do on that front. But the other thing he wants to do is ensure that there’s NFL football in Northeast Florida for many generations to come.”

Lamping continued to mention the Lot J project, which has been in the works for many years and is nearing a point of a funding and construction agreement according to him. He said that the project will basically be “Patriot Place on Steroids,” and that it would be another unique stream of revenue to help both the Jacksonville community and the Jags. 

Even with the city and team working on its own localized version of Patriots Place, fans have expressed that they don’t think another game in London is the answer for the team’s revenue problem. Instead, they’ve argued that a team that can win consistently would be the answer, something Lamping seems to disagree with. 

Until Lot J can get done, it appears that Khan and Lamping feel trips to London are the best supplement for revenue. However, even if Lot J thrives, some fans have concerns over whether it would be enough to prevent a two-game commitment to London in Khan’s eyes — or more games being played there in the future.