NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addresses 49ers’ international future

SAN JOSE – The NFL’s global expansion could impact the 49ers more than anyone next season, and do so two-fold.

For starters, they could open the season in Australia against the already designated host, the Los Angeles Rams, whose SoFi Stadium is annually overtaken by the 49ers Faithful.

Come December, the NFL is returning to Mexico City and, for that visit, the 49ers finally could be moving a home game out of Levi’s Stadium for the first time in its 13-year history.

“As far as the international play, we haven’t done the schedule yet,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday when asked about that potential 49ers double-up.

“But the 49ers from Day 1, back in the ’80s, were raising their hand and saying, ‘We’ll go,’” Goodell continued. “And I have no doubt that they’ll want to participate.”

One game? Yes. Two? That desire becomes doubtful.

“That’s not fair. Then the NFL, I feel, is doing us a disservice,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said in an exclusive interview at Monday’s Pro Bowl practice in San Francisco. “Because if we’re going to talk about health and safety, to do two international games like that is almost like playing three games in 13 days.”

That was a pointed reference to the 49ers’ exhaustive final stretch of this past regular season, when they played three games in 13 days. Then, after a wild-card win at Philadelphia, they sustained a 41-6 divisional-round loss at top-seeded Seattle, which had an eight-day rest advantage.

No team has played two international games on separate continents in the same season, and there may not be anything formally announced on that front until May, including a potential 49ers-Rams opener in Oz.

“Australia is pretty far,” 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey said before Pro Bowl practice. “I’d love to see how the schedule would work. Transparently, that might be a little too far.”

A direct flight is nearly 16 hours, so an acclimation period certainly would be required.

“I don’t think anything’s been confirmed, so I won’t speak to that game,” 49ers CEO Al Guido said in an exclusive interview. “… As a whole, we are positive on playing international games. Now it’s part and parcel with health and safety and security and scheduling around the rest of our games.

“If it happens, it happens and we’ll be a great participant. I just don’t know where it sits today.”

Goodell opened his state-of-the-league press conference by confirming the NFL would expand to a season-high nine international games this season, including Monday’s earlier announcement of games in Madrid, Spain and Paris, France.

Next season’s opener in Melbourne was already reserved a year ago for the Rams to serve as host.

“Honestly, if we’re going to play in Australia or any international game, I would prefer it to be the first game of the season, because you have a lot more time to acclimate, there’s more rest time as far as traveling,” Juszczyk said. “Whereas if you’re doing it midseason, that throws off your whole schedule, including rest, recovery and practice schedule. If we’re going to do it, let’s do it Week 1.”

Added McCaffrey: “We don’t care where it is. We will show up and play. But Australia, what’s that flight, 20 hours or something? We’ll see.”

Such a trip to Melbourne Cricket Ground would deny the 49ers an annual visit to SoFi Stadium, where they’re 5-1 in regular-season games since it opened – and what has become a haven for the 49ers Faithful to occupy the majority of seats at the rivalry game. Then again, next season’s Super Bowl is at SoFi Stadium.

Rams outside linebacker Jared Verse is cool if the NFL sets up the rival 49ers as their Australian date.

“It gives (Australians) a real good perspective of how the NFL is, because that’s a rivalry. It means a lot more,” Verse said in an exclusive interview at the Pro Bowl practice. “That’s something we really get into, and they get into it. It would be a good showcase.”

A 49ers-Rams game had been in the works for the NFL’s debut in China in 2018 but that plan was nixed. The Niners are 3-0 in regular-season games outside the United States.

Monday, the NFL announced it would play a game each of the next three years in Mexico City at Estadio Banorte — formerly Azteca — home to Club América.

Other 2026 international games beyond Mexico and Australia are slated for Brazil (Rio De Janeiro), Germany (Munich), England (London, three games) and Monday’s confirmation of Spain (Madrid) and France (Paris).

The 49ers’ last international game was in 2022, when they claimed a 38-10 win over Arizona in Mexico City, after the 49ers prepared for that high-altitude affair by practicing in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The 49ers and Cardinals also played the NFL’s first regular-season game outside the country, with the 49ers falling 31-14 in Mexico City on Oct. 2, 2005.

Other regular-season games abroad were in London, in 2010 (24-16 win over Denver on Oct. 31) and in 2013 (42-10 win over Jacksonville on Oct. 27). There have been 34 games played in England since then, involving all other 31 franchises, including 12 by the Jaguars and four apiece by the Rams, the Dolphins, the Jets, the Falcons and the Vikings.

The 49ers played exhibitions in London four times (1988, 1992, 2010, 2013), as well as in Japan (Tokyo 1989, ’95; Osaka 2002), Germany (Berlin 1991), Spain (Barcelona 1993) and Canada (Vancouver 1998).

The NFL opened the past two seasons in São Paulo, Brazil, with the Philadelphia Eagles beating the Green Bay Packers in 2024 and the Los Angeles Chargers topping the Kansas City Chiefs last Sept. 5.

The 49ers last played in an NFL season opener in 2002, with a 16-13 win over the host New York Giants.

SUPER BOWL ROTATION?

A decade after hosting its first Super Bowl, Levi’s Stadium will make its encore Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks face the New England Patriots. The Bay Area hosted only one previous Super Bowl, in 1984 at Stanford. Many more could be in the future if this every-decade trend continues, especially considering how Apple and Google (YouTube) are involved in Super Bowl 60.

“If I’m the NFL, I want to be at the cutting edge of innovation, media and technology. This seems to be a pretty good place to host the Super Bowl and that’s the Bay Area,” Guido said.

The Rams’ SoFi Stadium and the Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the next two Super Bowls; the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans are opening stadiums in the next two years and figure to be rewarded with a Super Bowl, per NFL history.

Goodell said of the Bay Area: “We have a great team assembled here to make sure that this great event goes off in a great way, a great host team with the 49ers, and we’ve got a chance here to really put a great light on this Bay Area, all the great communities and the cities, and shine about the great things that are happening in this community.”

ICE INVOLVEMENT?

Goodell did not outright confirm whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will converge on Sunday’s game. He did say, “the federal government is a big part of that, including this administration and every other administration before that.”

Halftime performer Bad Bunny weighed in on the controversy at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, to which Goodell said: “Listen Bad Bunny, I think that was demonstrated last night, is one of the great artists in the world. And that’s one of the reasons we chose him. But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on, and that this was a platform to unite people and to bring people together with creativity with their talents and to be able to use this moment to do that. I think Bad Bad Bunny understands that and I think you’ll have a great performance.”