GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers‘ odds of playing an international game next season got a bit higher Friday.
The NFL announced the three teams hosting games in London in 2025, including the Cleveland Browns, one of the teams Green Bay will play this year. Another Green Bay road opponent is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are rumored to be hosting a game against the Packers in Dublin. The NFL so far has not announced a Dublin game, or opponents for any of the identified teams.
Also scheduled to play in London are the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. Neither are on the Packers’ schedule.
Beginning in 2025, the NFL can schedule up to eight regular season games internationally. It has said it will play games in Madrid, Spain, and in Berlin, Germany, as well as London next season. leaving room for up to three more games.
Eight international games could include half the teams in the league every year.
The NFL said each team’s opponent, along with game dates and kickoff times will be announced when the full 2025 schedule is revealed in the spring. In 2024, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the Eagles would host a game in Brazil in February during Super Bowl week, and revealed in April the Packers would be their opponent. For the London game, the announcements were in February and May.
Noah Strackbein, writing for Sports Illustrated, said the Packers would play the Steelers in Dublin. It had earlier been reported the Steelers would host a game at Croke Park in Dublin.
“According to a source, the Steelers are expected to play the Green Bay Packers in Ireland. Pittsburgh would operate as the home team, while Green Bay would view it as an away matchup,” Strackbein wrote.
The Packers have not heard from the league about a game in Dublin, said Aaron Popkey, Packers public affairs director.
The Packers, the final NFL team to play a regular-season international game, lost to the New York Giants in 2022 in London and to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024 in São Paulo, Brazil.
The Packers would not give up a home game to play overseas during seasons when they have eight games at Lambeau Field. In 2022, when NFC teams had nine home games in the NFL’s unbalanced 17-game schedule, the Packers did give up the extra game to play in London. In 2024, the game in Brazil was a scheduled road game, so for the first time there were nine regular-season games at Lambeau Field.
The Berlin game will be played at Olympic Stadium as part of a multiyear commitment to playing games in the German capital. The Madrid game will take place at recently renovated Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home to La Liga soccer club Real Madrid. London games will be at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and possibly Wembley Stadium.
The NFL played five international games during the 2024 season, in addition to Brazil, teams played three times in London and once in Munich, Germany.
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG.
