NFL boss Roger Goodell makes his feelings on overseas Super Bowl clear

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has revealed that he "wouldn't be surprised" if the Super Bowl is hosted outside of the U.S. for a first time in the future - as the prospect of the showpiece taking place in London appears to be a possibility.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has played host to nine NFL regular season games across its short history - with a tenth to come this weekend. Caleb Williams' Chicago Bears and Trevor Lawrence's Jacksonville Jaguars will face off at the 62,850-capacity arena, which was purpose-built to host games in the sport.

At least four games are held abroad as things stand, with the go-ahead already given for this figure to double in the coming years. Moreover, Goodell has already hinted that the league will seek to increase this total to 16 international games a season at some point.

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New Orleans' Caesars Superdome will be the venue for this year's Super Bowl, with San Francisco's Levi's Stadium set to host in 2026, before Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium follows suit in 2027. However, an opportunity for a first Super Bowl held outside of the U.S. could present itself towards the end of the current decade.

Addressing the prospect as the NFL returned to London, league commissioner Goodell said: "We've always traditionally tried to play a Super Bowl in an NFL city - that was always sort of a reward for the cities that have NFL franchises. But things change. It wouldn't surprise me at all if that happens one day."

On the subject of the potential increase in international games moving forward, he revealed that teams could play a game each overseas in the future. This would potentially be on the cards if the amount of regular season games in the diary eventually increases to 18.

"If we expand our regular season from 17 games to 18, and reduce the preseason from three to two, I could see us at the same time saying 'every team will play an international game every year. If we do expand our season to an 18-and-two structure, I see us going to 16 of those games being in international markets."

A second bye week could also be in the offing, with Goodell continuing: "A lot of that depends on - can we continue to make the game safer, can we continue to modify the way we conduct the offseason as well as the training camp and as well as the season, so that these guys feel comfortable being able to play that period of time.

With regular season games set to take place in foreign locations including Madrid from 2025, the commissioner acknowledged that the next host location could be Ireland. He added: "I have no doubt that we're going to be playing in Ireland. I don't know if it will be next year, but it's coming soon."