Account
NFL Rumors: Latest on Bucs, Patriots, Chiefs and Panthers' Home Games in Germany
January 10, 2022
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers could all play home games in Germany from 2022-25, according to Peter King of NBC Sports.
Though the schedule is not set in stone, the four teams were among those that were awarded marketing rights in Germany.
The NFL announced in October that it is planning to have its first regular-season game in Germany in either 2022 or 2023, with Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich named finalists.
King argued the Buccaneers might be the top option to host the first game, with Tom Brady an obvious attraction as well as an exciting home schedule of top opponents. Buccaneers owner Joel Glazer is also the chair of the NFL’s International Committee.
There could still be a fight for the honor to play the first game in the new country.
"There are multiple NFL teams that badly want to play in that first German game and want to take advantage of the hunger of German fans," King reported in October. "It's the fastest-growing international market."
The NFL's international series took a pause in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic but returned in 2021 with two London games at the home of Tottenham Hotspur. None of the four teams involved—the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars—were playoff-bound.
The league could send more high-profile squads to Germany for the debut game, generating excitement for the emerging market.
King projected one game in Germany in 2022 as well as three in England and one in Mexico, which last hosted a game in 2019.