The National Soccer League kicks off its first game in South America on Friday night as the league looks to expand its presence abroad.
As the NFL enters the southern hemisphere, professional football has never been stronger financially. Last season, the league earned $13 billion in revenue and the average value of a team is about $6.5 billion, according to CNBC's official NFL team valuations.
But as the league looks to sustain its growth, international markets are a priority.
Before the league's home opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on CNBC's “Squawk Box” that the league aims to become an international sports property. This season, the NFL will play five games overseas in Europe and South America. Next season, the league will play eight games overseas.
“The reality is that when we bring our regular-season style of play here, it creates a whole new environment,” Goodell said. “It creates a spark and everything seems to really take off after that point.”
Goodell said it's been a learning process playing games overseas as the league sees how players handle long flights and different time zones.
“When [the players] “The teams that return to their home cities tomorrow will be in a similar time zone and eight days ahead of their next game,” Goodell said. Brazil is an hour ahead of the Eastern time zone, but the trip takes 11 hours. “This is all part of learning how many games we can play,” Goodell said.
As the NFL plays in places like London, Germany and Brazil, it not only creates new fans, but also helps increase sponsorship opportunities and deepen the league’s relationships with international media partners.
The league had two sponsorship deals in Germany before playing games there beginning in 2022. Today, the NFL has 15 deals.
The league has also enabled teams to build brand awareness and fan followings abroad through its Global Markets Program.
The program, now in its third year, grants teams marketing rights in other countries. This season, 25 franchises are participating in the program in 19 international markets.
Among the deals, the Miami Dolphins have marketing rights in Argentina and Colombia; the Los Angeles Rams have rights in South Korea and Japan; and the Seattle Seahawks have rights in Canada and are expanding into Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Goodell also spoke to CNBC about the current NFL media rights landscape and said the addition of streaming options has benefited the league and its fans.
The NFL has broadcast deals with Fox, Disney’s ESPN and ABC, NBCUniversal and CBS, plus streaming services YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Peacock, all worth an estimated $11.4 billion by 2024. Some games will be streamed exclusively, including Friday’s showdown in Brazil, which will air on NBC’s Peacock platform.
“The bottom line is you have to go where your fans are, and our fans are moving toward live streaming platforms,” he said.
However, Goodell said 85% of NFL games are still available on broadcast television.
“We truly believe that our policies are really beneficial to our growth, to help more people watch NFL football and for fans to enjoy it,” he added.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
