Overview
- Speaking in Melbourne on Friday, Roger Goodell said the NFL will play more games in Australia and said a 2027 return might happen.
- The league’s first regular-season game in Australia is a Week 1 matchup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between the 49ers and Rams with the NFL expecting a crowd of more than 100,000.
- Goodell said every public ticket released sold out within minutes, underscoring local demand for the MCG event.
- 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan criticized the trip as offering little benefit, and players such as Christian McCaffrey cited the long flight and roughly 17-hour time gap as concerns.
- Goodell replied that coaches are paid to win, emphasized the game counts with teams returning for Week 2, offered Shanahan a jet-lag app, and promised league support as part of a broader international expansion that now spans Europe and Latin America.