Roger Goodell Comments on Future of the NFL in Mexico City

With the NFL's return to Mexico City on Monday night for the first time since 2005, commissioner Roger Goodell is keen on the idea of bringing the league back to the city.  

Speaking to ESPN's John Sutcliffe (via ESPN.com) before the Oakland Raiders defeated the Houston Texans, 27-20, Goodell addressed bringing more NFL games to Mexico City:

"

It's been an incredible success so far. I'm optimistic we'll be back. We're going to get to work right away on this ... This is a priority for us. We see the passion that's happening here and the fan's interest in this game continues to explode. We want to feed that. ... We want to continue that relationship and be back for more.

"

Monday marked the second time the NFL has held a regular-season game in Mexico City. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers in 2005, and the contest set an NFL record with an attendance of 103,467. 

The record was eclipsed when the Dallas Cowboys hosted the New York Giants in 2009 before 105,121 fans at the new Cowboy Stadium. The game in 2016 between the Texans and Raiders brought in 76,473 fans, per NFL Mexico.

Goodell also addressed previous comments made by President-elect Donald Trump about the country:

"

For us, this is about the future and continuing to grow and to reach more fans. ... This isn't about politics. For us, this is about uniting people. I think you'll see fans in Mexico enjoying America's favorite sport, football, and that's a great thing for us to all come together behind.

[...]

We know that we have tremendous fans around the globe and we know the Hispanic fan base is particularly interested in our game. That's why we were so focused on getting back here. We feel it's a great way to build the support we want within the Hispanic community.

"

The NFL has added an international series to the regular-season schedule annually since 2007 with 17 games played in London, England, during that span. This season marked the first time the league has scheduled four games to be played outside the United States. 

As long as the NFL generates money and interest from matchups in Mexico City, the league will continue to schedule games there. Based on the attendance numbers, there's every reason to keep this relationship going.