Steelers' Aaron Rodgers reveals NFL once had a completely different plan for its international games

No quarterback is as well-traveled, at least when it comes to football, as Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The four-time MVP is the first quarterback in NFL history to play an international game in three different countries in three straight seasons. He played in London, England, in 2024; Dublin, Ireland, in 2025; and Paris, France, in 2026. 

After Rodgers' Steelers won 16-10 in the NFL's first game in Paris, the quarterback revealed that when the NFL and the NFL Players Association were negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement in 2020, they almost had a different plan for international games. The NFL and its players' union were in talks to hold an international week in which the 16 games for its 32 teams would take place in 16 different locations around the world. With all games outside of the United States that week, the season would be 16 games long, and each team would have two bye weeks. Rodgers said those conversations died when owners pushed for a 17th regular-season game, which did come to fruition in 2021. 

"The reach of the league is fantastic, and I think I always wanted to be a part of it," Rodgers said postgame. "I think it'd have been phenomenal for the game. Now, the owners wanted to push for 17 games for the extra revenue because they care so much about player safety, but it would have been nice."

Where could the NFL have played 16 international games? Rodgers sees multiple opportunities in North America, South America, Europe and even the Middle East. The only barrier he saw to the league making a groundbreaking effort to expand its global reach is money. 

"I think there are great opportunities for expansion in those things," Rodgers said. "It'd be awesome to see them, you know, have an international week because I think it's great for the game and the expansion of the game. And I wish there was a mandate, though, from the league [that] they would have to open up their pocketbooks too, and they're maybe a little tight on money and stuff. I think they should mandate every team coming over Sunday or Monday to really enjoy the culture and the place you're going. You could do events in those cities and outreach stuff and community work. But they won't because they're tight [with money]."

The 22-season NFL veteran didn't go abroad in his first 17 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, but he finally experienced the chance to play internationally for the first time in London in his final season with the Packers in 2022. After three straight years playing a game overseas with the New York Jets and the Steelers, Rodgers couldn't be a bigger proponent of the NFL's international initiatives. 

"You know, I said it earlier this week: 'I wish we could have come over and enjoyed the sights both in Ireland and in France for a little more time,'" Rodgers said postgame, via Front Office Sports.  "But it's great the way the game is growing."

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