SAN JOSE, Calif. — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said during his State of the NFL address on Monday that the league will have nine international games, including a December contest in Mexico City. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said toward the end of the 2025 season that he wanted to have an international game in Mexico City.
The last time the Cowboys played internationally was 2014, when the franchise visited London. When it comes to motivation for playing in Mexico, Jones has said that a large percentage of their fan base is from Mexico. NFL officials also cite Mexico as its largest fan base outside of the U.S. In 1998, the league opened an office in Mexico City.
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The league announced there will be games in Mexico City for the next three seasons at historic Estadio Banorte (also known as Estadio Azteca). Jones said numerous NFL teams have opted against playing the Cowboys internationally because they’re a strong road draw. The Cowboys finished in the top 10 in road attendance in 2023 and 2025.
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Based on NFL rules, teams must give up a home game to play internationally once every eight years.
Dallas has nine home games for 2026.
“And so clubs have a right to veto a team that’s the visiting team,” Jones said in December when asked about playing internationally. “They can veto that team. And so that rule has bumped us a few times on this international. Otherwise, if the league said you’ve got an international game, we’d have it. OK, I’m just saying as far as giving up a home game. We don’t get to say yes or no.”
The NFL has played in Estadio Banorte in 2005, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022.
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