Germany to be set location

Workers prepare a sign Wednesday inside the FC Bayern Munich soccer stadium Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.

MUNICH — The NFL plans to play more regular-season games in Germany, possibly sooner than expected.

League commissioner Roger Goodell told a fan forum in Munich on Saturday that the NFL will stage “at least” four games in Germany through 2025.

The current agreement includes Sunday’s first game in Germany plus an annual game over the next three seasons — with Munich and Frankfurt each hosting twice.

“In our commitment, we’re going to play the next four years, at least, and with at least four games,” Goodell said ahead of Sunday’s game between the Buccaneers and Seahawks at Allianz Arena. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it expanded beyond that at some point soon.”

The commissioner didn’t take questions from the media but his comments could reflect that both the Patriots and Chiefs are lobbying for next year’s game.

There are also questions about the availability of Azteca Stadium in Mexico City in 2023. Azteca, which will host the 49ers and Cardinals on Nov. 21, could be under renovation next year in preparation for the 2026 World Cup.

Germany has become the NFL’s top market in Europe and Munich has been buzzing all week about Sunday’s game.

If league officials look to extend beyond the four years, they would have little trouble finding more partners. Besides Munich and Frankfurt, Düsseldorf had reached the short list from eight German cities that initially bid to host games.

“What the commissioner and we are feeling is the excitement from our teams to play here, especially those clubs that have the international home marketing area rights to Germany,” said Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president of club business and league events.

Those rights allow teams to cultivate fans and sign commercial deals in the country. The Bucs, Chiefs, Patriots and Panthers have rights in Germany. AFC teams will get the ninth home game next season as part of the expanded schedule, setting up the Chiefs and Patriots as a potential home team in Germany.

“We both want to be there and we both see the opportunity, so we’ll present our best cases to be there and the league will make a decision,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan told The Associated Press.

The Chiefs were initially “very disappointed that we didn’t get the game this year,” Donovan said.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has spoken in the past about Germany’s potential and has said the Patriots have the biggest fan base there.

Mexico is a huge market for the NFL and nine teams have marketing rights in the country. O’Reilly, as he did in a midweek call with media, referred Azteca questions to stadium officials there.

The league will sort out its 2023 international game schedule in the next few months, said O’Reilly, adding if there’s an issue with Azteca, “having a clear sense by the Super Bowl would be important.”

Any additions to the current four-game plan would need to be negotiated with the German Football League and require space in the soccer calendar.