NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested Friday that the league plans on playing additional games in Australia in the future after making its regular-season debut Down Under in 2026.

Speaking to reporters at Melbourne Cricket Ground, which will be the site of the first-ever NFL regular-season game in Australia between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 10, Goodell laid out some future plans for the NFL in Australia.

“There’s no question that we’re going to be playing here again,” Goodell said. “Our view is that we’re coming here for the long term. We don’t come as a one-offs. This isn’t a circus. This is something that’s an investment ⁠in this, in this market and we believe that, this is long term and will be great for the NFL long term.”

When asked if his comments about the Australian market mean the NFL could be back for a game as soon as the 2027 season, Goodell said, “It might.”

Since 2005, the NFL has held regular-season games outside the United States on an almost annual basis with the most of them being played in London.

The league has expanded the pool of host cities and countries considerably in recent years, though, resulting in games being played in Germany, Brazil, Ireland and Spain.

A regular-season game will also be played in France for the first time in NFL history this season.

Games in Europe require teams to take lengthy flights and force them to get acclimated to new time zones, but Australia is an entirely different animal given that Melbourne is more than a half-day ahead of the United States’ Eastern time zone.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan has been outspoken about not being particularly thrilled about his team’s participation in the Australian game this coming season, telling reporters, “I don’t see any pro. It’s cool for the league to play globally. I think that’s awesome. But as far as the team doing it, no, there’s not much benefit to it. Sometimes it’s nice to get a bye week after but doesn’t happen in Week 1.”

Since the game is happening in Week 1, the 49ers almost certainly won’t get a bye the following week, which could make recovery difficult.

Goodell expressed understanding with regard to Shanahan’s stance, saying, “Coach Shanahan is enthusiastic and a great football coach, but also someone who truly understands the importance of expanding our game globally. But his job is to win.”

If the NFL does indeed return to Australia in the future, the league may have to consider moving the game to later in the season so as to give the participating teams the option of having a bye the following week, which is usually the case for teams playing in Europe.