Patriots and Dolphins are on NFL's radar to play in Brazil

The NFL is a week away from its first game in Brazil and in South America, as the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers face off next Friday in São Paulo. It doesn't sound like the league is going away from the country any time soon, and as the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins have the Brazilian marketing rights as part of the NFL's global expansion, both AFC East teams might head south over the next few years.

Talking to Brazilian media, NFL Executive Vice President of Club Business and League Events Peter O'Reilly mentioned that both the Patriots and the Dolphins will be heavily involved in marketing events next week, alongside the league and the playing teams.

"In Brazil, the Dolphins and Patriots have the marketing rights," O'Reilly said. "So, they will make themselves present in the game. We saw the passion and the demand. We can't wait for what will happen next Friday."

The league is expanding its plans in Brazil , and for that to happen, it opened an office in São Paulo. Mexican executive Luis Martinez, with a large experience helping the game's growth in Latin America, will be the general manager. As a consequence, the NFL does expect to play more games in Brazil in the near future, and it could naturally involve New England and Miami.

"We do want to have more games in Brazil. Our commitment to Brazil is a long-term plan," O'Reilly added.

Reasons for the team choice

When asked about why the NFL had chosen the Eagles and the Packers to play in Brazil this year, and not the Patriots and Dolphins, Peter O'Reilly mentioned that NFC teams have the extra home game in 2024, which forced the league to select a team from that conference to be the home team in São Paulo, and that team was the Eagles. From that point on, it made sense to select the Packers among the team in Philly's schedule.

In odd years, AFC teams have the extra home game. So if the NFL returns to Brazil in the future (maybe in 2025 or 2027), the Patriots and/or the Dolphins could certainly be a part of the plan.

"We are committed to Brazil for the long haul," O'Reilly had said previously to the American media.

Related: How football became popular in Brazil