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USATSI

The NFL has been playing regular season games in London since 2007, but don't expect the English capital to host a Super Bowl anytime soon. 

During an appearance at the Leaders Week conference in London on Thursday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about the possibility of the Super Bowl in London, and although he has left the door open in the past for a possible overseas Super Bowl, he seemed to close that door this time around. 

"It's hard for me to look down the path, but I would say our major focus for us is to play the Super Bowl in markets where we have franchises," Goodell said. "It's a huge economic impact. Last year's Super Bowl in New Orleans was over a billion-dollar economic impact. … That's a significant investment that we feel our communities, where we're playing, deserve that.  

When it comes to London, the first part of Goodell's statement is the key part: Right now, the NFL is only looking at giving the Super Bowl to cities that have an NFL franchise, and London doesn't have one. Last month, the NFL commissioner admitted that the league has looked into the possibility of putting a team in an international city like London, but that's not close to happening yet. 

"There are markets that could certainly support a team," Goodell said in September. "We've always focused on, 'What are the competitive consequences of that? Can we manage that?' And so every year we try to learn something from the international series."

The thing the NFL wanted to learn this year was whether a team could handle back-to-back international games played in two different countries, and the Minnesota Vikings are the guinea pigs for that. They played in Dublin in Week 4 and will play in London in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns. 

Why was there recent speculation that London might get a Super Bowl?

There's been speculation about London possibly getting a Super Bowl for years, but it got ramped up this year because British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson was very vocal about bringing the game to England. 

"I've made a big pitch for the first Super Bowl outside the U.S. to take place in Britain," Mandelson said in August, via The Times. "I want that Super Bowl in Britain. I don't care when it takes place, but I want it announced while I'm ambassador."

Mandelson's comments came one year after London Mayor Sadiq Khan made his own pitch to get the Super Bowl. Khan said it was a priority for him to get the NFL's biggest game into his city. 

"The Super Bowl is really important for us," Khan told The Athletic in May 2024. "We have a number of American football games, and I want it to come here because we want American sports fans in Europe to come to London to watch them, not just go to America."

With politicians in England being so vocal about eventually landing the Super Bowl, it's possible Goodell decided to shut down all of the speculation by making it clear the game would only be played in a city that currently has a franchise. 

The next three Super Bowl locations have already been decided:

  • Super Bowl LX (February 2026): Santa Clara, California (Levi's Stadium)
  • Super Bowl LXI (February 2027): Inglewood, California (SoFi Stadium)
  • Super Bowl LXII (February 2028): Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)

Las Vegas appears to be the frontrunner to host Super Bowl LXIII, and after that, new stadiums in Nashville and Washington, D.C. will be in the conversation for getting the game. 

NFL future plans for international games

One other reason the NFL likely won't be putting a Super Bowl in London anytime soon is because the league is focused on world domination. The NFL's international series has been expanding rapidly over the past few years. For more than a decade, London was the only city that hosted an international game, but the NFL has rapidly added cities over the past few years. Dublin hosted a game for the first time last week, and both Berlin and Madrid will host a game for the first time this year. Over the past five years, the NFL has also played in Mexico City along with Munich, Frankfurt and São Paulo.

In 2026, the NFL will be playing games in Rio de Janeiro and Melbourne, Australia, for the first time. The NFL will also soon be adding a game in Asia. According to Goodell, the league's ultimate goal is to play 16 international games per year. 

"I think our next step after Australia would be probably moving into Asia," Goodell said in Ireland last week, via NFL.com. "That's a continent we'd like to be playing in. We are serious about being a global sport. We would like to get to 16 games so everyone is playing one game a year internationally."

With the NFL so focused on international expansion, it's unlikely we'll see an international franchise anytime soon, and if there's no franchise, that means no international Super Bowl. 

Although London won't be getting a Super Bowl this year (or in the near future), the city will be getting three games in 2025 starting this Sunday with the Vikings playing the Browns. In Week 6, the New York Jets will face the Denver Broncos, and then in Week 7, the Jacksonville Jaguars will play their annual game in London, and that will come against the Los Angeles Rams.