NFL Won’t Play International Games In 2020

Update:

The NFL has officially confirmed that there won’t be any international games played in 2020. 

NFL update on 2020 season schedule.

— NFL UK (@NFLUK) May 4, 2020

According to Adam Schefter, an NFL source tells him he doesn’t think the league will be able to play any international series games this coming season because of the pandemic. 

This confirms a report by Matt Hughes of the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom from Sunday as well. 

The league will release its schedule for the preseason and regular season later this week. While the NFL is still planning a normal 16-game schedule despite uncertainty about what the situation will look like in the fall, that apparently won’t extend to the international games. 

There were a number of games planned in the United Kingdom and Mexico this coming year, including:

• The Jaguars hosting two games in London
• The Cardinals hosting a game in Mexico City
• The Dolphins hosting an international game in a yet unannounced location
• The Falcons hosting an international game in a yet unannounced location

Given the potential logistical headaches the NFL already faces with conducting games in the United States this year, it makes sense for the league to pause this portion of its efforts to grow the game overseas for now. 

There’s still optimism the 2020 season will continue, with a report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio indicating there was an “extremely small” chance the season would be canceled. 

“However the specific dates play out, the generalities currently are this: An NFL season is highly likely to occur, and it’s possible if not probable that all 256 games will feature stadiums that will be open to fans who choose to attend,” Florio writes.

Testing has been increasing in the U.S. but there’s still a long way to go. The good news is the NFL season isn’t scheduled to start until Thursday, September 10 and it’s possible they could stretch things into October if need be. 

The coming schedule release this week is expected to include built-in contingencies to adapt to the pandemic. 

We’ll have more regarding the 2020 NFL season as the news is available.