LAS VEGAS – The NFL’s international series will visit Spain in 2025 … and the dominoes line up in a certain way that could send the Dallas Cowboys to Madrid for what will be one of the most high-profile events in league history.
The NFL recently announced plans to open the 2024 season in Brazil with a game featuring the Philadelphia Eagles. … and of course the Cowboys are on the Philly schedule, so Dallas being asked to participate is plausible. But that would mean robbing the Eagles of a key home date at The Linc against a key division foe.
But the game in Spain, which is expected to take place in Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, which is the home stadium of soccer club Real Madrid? There are tea leaves that suggest “America’s Team” could be heading to Europe.
Team owner Jerry Jones has long been reluctant to forfeit a home game at AT&T Stadium due to the revenue generated. But what about a road game?
The Cowboys have played in just one international game, that in 2014 when they made the trip to London and defeated the “home-team” Jaguars. But the Spain game fits for this reason: The NFL has assigned “marketing rights” of foreign regions to various member teams, and Spain is assigned to both the Chicago Bears and the Miami Dolphins.
And yes, the Cowboys and the Bears are scheduled to play – “at Chicago” – in 2025. That means Dallas would be “on the road” if the league chooses to stage “Cowboys at Bears” in Madrid.
“Playing a game in Madrid in 2025 highlights the continued expansion of the league’s global footprint and the accelerated ambitions to take our game to more fans around the world,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell from here in Las Vegas at the Super Bowl.
The NFL has not yet announced which teams will play in the game. But along with the league playing games in England, Germany and Mexico City, adding contests in Brazil and Spain add to that “global footprint.” … and which NFL team can enlarge that footprint more effectively than the Dallas Cowboys?
