How leagues use international games to boost their revenues and global profile
International games are a great way for leagues to bolster their revenues, by growing a loyal global fan base and showcasing their superstars
We are going global
Two of the biggest and best teams in baseball, the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the face of the league, Shohei Ohtani, fresh off singing his $700 million 10-year deal, just held their season openers in Seoul, South Korea. This is part of the MLB World Tour, which will include three additional stops throughout the season in Mexico City, London and the Dominican Republic, involving other heavyweights of the sport in the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, NY Mets, and the Philadelphia Phillies. In total eight international games will be held by the MLB this year.
An increasingly globalized world has not stopped at sports, with leagues facing saturated domestic markets, many are seeking growth opportunities abroad. International games are a popular and highly effective way to achieve growth for any league, if done correctly. They allow teams and leagues to build their brand, expand their fanbase, and unlock new avenues for revenues through enhanced viewership and merchandising opportunities. International game series are nothing new, but they are increasingly becoming a fixture during the regular season calendar amongst the biggest leagues in America (with European soccer more focused on holding international summer tours of friendly games).
Illustrating the impact of cultivating international interest, recent international viewership figures from the Super Bowl underscore a burgeoning appetite for American sports on a global scale, in no small part due to its focus on staging international regular season games. Over the past two Super Bowls (LVII & LVIII), total viewership grew from 56 million to 62.5 million (+12%), with Germany and the UK emerging as key markets. This surge in viewership coincides with the NFL’s strategic foray into these international territories, evidenced by the league’s concerted efforts with four games hosted in Germany and six in the UK over the past two seasons. Notably, the NFL has maintained a consistent presence in the UK since the 2007 season, further solidifying its foothold in that market.
As we delve deeper into the potential of international games, it becomes evident that leagues like the NFL stand to gain immensely by optimizing their schedules to accommodate such ventures.
Contrasting approaches to international games
A clear dichotomy exists between the types of international games played, contests of significance (regular season games) and ones that don’t matter (friendly pre-season games). While the major American leagues strike a balance between both, European soccer predominantly gravitates towards the latter, epitomized by its emphasis on pre-season summer tours.
As can be seen above, the NFL took a pioneering role and was by far the earliest to stage international games, dating back to 1968, with the other leagues only committing to such games from the 90s onwards. The NFL’s focus on international games as a driver for international growth is evidenced by the highest percentage of regular season games played abroad among the big four American leagues, comprising nearly 2% of its total games. The league’s commitment to international games is further underscored by its more than $10 million contribution to Tottenham Hotspur stadium (where two international NFL games a year will be held until the 2029/30 season) for football specific amenities, such as a synthetic pitch below the retractable grass field, NFL sized locker rooms, and additional media suites.
For next season the NFL already confirmed three games in London, one in Munich and one in Sao Paulo, continuing its footprint expansion into Brazil, where American Football is becoming increasingly popular. For the 2025 season the NFL plans to stage eight international games, with the renovated Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid joining the rotation of international venues.
Conversely, European soccer’s reliance on summer tours (mainly in Asia and the U.S.) underscores a different approach to international exposure. While these tours boast impressive attendance figures (Manchester United versus Real Madrid in August of 2014, attracted 109,318 spectators at the University of Michigan stadium) and revenues, their lack of competitive significance diminishes their impact, often relegating them to mere commercial endeavors.
A major reason for soccer league games not being played internationally is the FIFA Stakeholders Committee. In 2020 it had recommended that football’s governing body should formally prevent leagues from holding official league matches outside of their home territories, curbing efforts by the likes of the Spanish FA to play La Liga matches in Miami. This did not stop the Spanish and Italian FA however from using cup competitions to play competitive games internationally, hosting their Supercopa finales abroad, both in Saudi Arabia, which resulted in intense fan and player backlash.
Pursuing global revenue growth
The obvious primary reason for introducing international games is to expand the revenue streams of leagues and individual teams by broadening their global reach. By cultivating larger fan bases and attracting more viewers, leagues can enhance the value of their global media rights and capitalize on additional merchandising opportunities. With many major professional leagues encountering saturated domestic markets, the need to explore international avenues for growth becomes imperative. The NFL is a prime example of this, despite its status as the most popular sport in the US, it has limited room for expansion within its home market. Thus, the international playground offers the best opportunity to generate growth.
Initially, the NFL attempted to tap into international markets with the creation of NFL Europe in 1991, comprising six teams from the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. However, the venture failed to turn a profit and was eventually disbanded in 2007 (after losing ~$30 million annually), leading to the inception of the NFL’s international series, featuring actual NFL teams competing in overseas venues.
International games also provide teams and leagues with an opportunity to showcase their biggest international stars, as exemplified by the recent MLB game featuring the LA Dodgers in Seoul, capitalizing on the immense popularity of Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani. He is the unquestioned biggest draw in baseball, illustrated by his annual $65 million in endorsement earnings, with the next best, Bryce Harper, making only a pedestrian $7 million, a mere $58 million less! The MLB has smartly chosen to schedule two Dodgers games with Ohtani in Seoul, benefitting from his immense popularity in Asia, attracting even more attention to the games. In a similar fashion, Tottenham staged summer tour games in Seoul in 2022, on the back of its own South Korean superstar in the team, Heung-Min Son.
As a shock to nobody who has seen #1 draft pick and generational talent Victor Wembanyama play for the Spurs this year, the NBA decided to have his team play in its international Paris game next season, using the French Wembanyama as the main draw of this game. I would not be surprised if they played the Minnesota Timberwolves, who employ the other household French player in the NBA in Rudy Gobert (mark this down as my prediction). Furthermore, with the top of the NBA currently dominated by international players, expect potential NBA games (even if only pre-season) in the near future to be staged in Serbia, Slovenia or Greece, banking on popularity and skill of Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Similarly, European soccer clubs leverage summer tour games to bolster their international presence and generate revenue, despite the lack of competitive significance. For instance, Manchester United’s 2019 tour of Australia reportedly generated an estimated $16.6 million, illustrating the financial potential of these ventures. United was also a pioneer amongst European teams to focus on the Asian market with its summer tour (leveraging its own South Korean player Park Ji-sung), gaining a large and loyal fanbase throughout the continent that the club still benefits from today.
Why then do we not have more international games?
Several factors contribute to the limited number of international games, with logistical challenges emerging as the primary obstacle. Transporting entire teams, coaching staff, and equipment across multiple time zones presents significant logistical hurdles, particularly for leagues with extensive operations like the NFL. This makes the commitment of the NFL towards international games even more impressive, as they have huge 53-man rosters, large coaching and assistant staff, as well as tons of equipment that needs to be flown to international games (this video by Wendover Productions offers a great breakdown of this logistical challenge for anyone interested). Furthermore, the impact on players should not be underestimated. Disruption to the intense regular season schedule due to long travel and jet lag can adversely effect on-field performance.
Cost considerations also play a significant role, particularly for the teams involved. Leagues often subsidize certain aspects of the cost to mitigate financial burdens, such as chartering flights for international games. However, European soccer teams organize their summer tours independently, consequently financing them individually as well.
Revenue sharing and the potential loss of a home game further complicate matters. While the designated home team typically receives the majority of ticket and concession revenue, leagues often retain a portion as well to cover additional expenses (e.g. stadium rental costs). This arrangement may result in one team sacrificing a home game to host an international match. Despite short-term hits to their revenues, team owners recognize the long-term benefits of league growth and valuation gains to their teams.
Fan reaction in the domestic market also influences the frequency of international games. Leagues must balance global expansion with maintaining the loyalty of domestic fans, who remain the primary target audience and revenue drivers. The backlash faced by the Spanish Federation following their decision to host the Supercopa de Espana in Saudi Arabia (from 2019–29, receiving $30 million in payments from Saudi Arabia annually) exemplifies the potential repercussions of alienating domestic supporters. Fan boycotts, protests and accusations that the Spanish FA is deliberately turning a blind eye to sportswashing followed.
European soccer fans are particularly protective of their established soccer culture and will resist significant changes. Recent events, such as the European Super League debacle, as well as the intense and disruptive protests of German fans against the German football league (DFL), who wanted to sell a stake in their media rights to external investors, highlight the intensity of fan scrutiny within open systems like European football.
Closed leagues in American sports facilitate international games more seamlessly, as collective league ownership enables unified and long-term decision-making. The structures are set up in a manner where every team eventually benefits equally from the growth of a league, due to the revenue share agreements, and not only a few in disproportionate fashion. This divergence in approach explains the distinct challenges and opportunities associated with international expansion in each context. While American leagues prioritize collective growth and monetization, European clubs drive international initiatives independently, as league-wide international initiatives face extreme scrutiny and pushback from fans.
My approach to optimize the NFL for international growth
The NFL’s ambition to grow globally has been evident through various initiatives, from the ill-fated NFL Europe to the ongoing international series games. Even the prospect of establishing European-based NFL teams has been contemplated, with London emerging as a potential contender. Sustaining a team in London or an entire 4-team division in Europe is a huge logistical challenge, further hindered by complexities such as conference alignment, playoff seeding, and European labor laws.
In light of these challenges, I have come up with my own solution as to how the NFL can further grow internationally. I propose a more streamlined approach to advancing the NFL’s international agenda within its existing framework.
Currently, the league operates with 32 teams, across 8 division (4 teams per division), each playing a 17-game regular season across an 18-week schedule (every team has one bye-week). My (ingenious) way to make the NFL an international powerhouse, while fixing some idiosyncrasies of the current setup is as follows:
- Each team plays 1 international game per season, resulting in a total of 16 international games; each team now also has 8 home and away games, as well as 1 international game (no more asymmetry in home/away games from the 17-game regular season)
- Extend the regular season by an extra bye-week for each team to accommodate for the increased travel, resulting in a 19-week regular season
- Schedule all the international games in weeks 1–16, so no team is disadvantaged in the critical final stretch of the regular season (weeks 17–19)
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Besides the enhanced international exposure, this revamped schedule offers a fun ancillary benefit from expanding to a 19-week regular season. The Super Bowl would be one week later and fall on the day before President’s Day, a public holiday in the U.S. Usually, the Monday after the Super Bowl is the day with the highest absenteeism in the U.S., with an estimated 16 million employees calling in sick this year after the Super Bowl. Thus, my revamped NFL calendar idea would even have an outsized positive economic impact on the U.S., reducing sick leave days significantly. So yes, if any other macro-economic issues need solving, feel free to contact me.
One random fact
The NFL international series game between the Dolphins and the Chiefs in Frankfurt (stadium capacity of 48,000) last season had 1.5 million people in the ticket queue within a minute of the window opening, which is nearly 2% of the German population. You could only get in that queue by signing-up beforehand, which makes this even more insane. I know this, as I was one of the poor souls in the queue hoping to get a ticket, but as you can see from the image below, I was unfortunately only at position 345,384 immediately after the window opened…tough luck
Thanks for reading
I hope you have a better appreciation for challenges and rationale behind leagues and clubs staging international games. Let’s hope someone at the NFL gets the memo about my perfect revamp of their calendar, giving me more shots at snagging a ticket the next time around (also, apologies to my American friends for trying to steal away some of your football games, but sharing is caring).
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