The NFL’s efforts to go global are taking shape. On Wednesday at an owners’ meeting in Dallas, the league made final votes on home marketing area (HMA) designations, which give teams the right to enter foreign markets.
The Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers were all awarded HMA licenses in Mexico. The Cowboys, who first played in Mexico City in 1994, are expected to be one of the most active franchises taking part in the international initiative.
Eighteen teams in total were awarded licenses, across eight countries, and each will maintain its HMA rights for at least five years, beginning Jan. 1. The NFL awarded 26 HMAs in total but didn’t specify the exact region for each team’s license(s).
While teams submitted bids across a host of countries—including Canada, Brazil and China—Mexico drew the most attention. The NFL decided to allow more than the half-dozen teams it originally planned to designate for Mexico, due to a strong team demand. For the nine clubs, it could be an opportunity to reach what the league says is more than 50 million NFL fans in the country.
The HMA initiative aims to create commercial opportunities for teams and attract new fans in markets outside of the U.S. The license grants a team exclusive merchandising and sponsorship rights in specific HMAs. The program builds on the NFL’s International Series, which aims for all 32 teams to play at least one game abroad over the next eight seasons.
The league says it will try to allow clubs to play their international games in their HMA if possible. While there is no guarantee that games will be played in these markets, teams will be able to conduct business there—including potential viewing parties, kids’ clinics and other fan events, while also possibly opening brick-and-mortar retail stores.
All NFL teams were allowed to contact outside consultants and apply for more than one region in their proposals, which were submitted to the league’s international committee in September.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, whose owner Shad Khan also controls English soccer club Fulham F.C., unsurprisingly were awarded rights in the United Kingdom. The team has played annually in London, as part of the International Series since 2013 (except for the 2020 game). The Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and the 49ers—which has a large stake in EPL side Leeds United—were also granted rights in the U.K.
Germany followed behind the U.K., with four teams: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots and Chiefs.
The NFL is planning to host a regular season game in Germany as early as next season. The league recently tapped former soccer executive Alexander Steinforth to lead business operations in the country.
The Seattle Seahawks and Vikings were awarded Canada, while the Bears and Dolphins are also poised to conduct business in Spain. Six teams were given multiple markets, with the Dolphins (Brazil, Spain, U.K.) and Rams (Australia, China, Mexico) awarded three each.
It’s unclear what level of investment teams will make with their new licenses, especially since early revenue returns are likely to be insignificant. Football assets and HMA media rights also remain limited.
It’s not shocking that some teams didn’t file proposals this time around, coming off the scaled-down 2020 season. Several teams entered the season focused on simply stabilizing business again after the pandemic resulted in the loss of billions league-wide last year.
Teams that didn’t participate this year won’t be shut out forever; teams may submit proposals every spring.