Roger Goodell opens door to future NFL games in never-before-seen continents and countries including Australia

Commissioner Roger Goodell is in Brazil overseeing the NFL's inaugural game in South America. Despite dealing with culture shock, flights, itineraries, and Friday's big game, Goodell spent some effort teasing the future of the sport. While most believe football to be an American tradition, Goodell appears to be interested in turning it into a global one.

Speaking in an interview on "Good Morning Football," Goodell named several new frontiers the sport could be hitting in future seasons.

"We're doing more and more in Africa on the development of players. Also, we feel like this game is destined to be global. We expect to be in Asia soon. We expect to be in Australia soon. We're going to we're going to make sure that our game is available around the globe," Goodell said [2:29].

"We're going to have eight games a year minimum. And if we do get to an 18 [week season], we likely will see even more international games, and I hope someday we'll be playing 16," he said. GMFB

Of course, 16 total games is the same number of games a team used to play in a single season. Now, Goodell wants to take the same number of games and divide them among 32 teams across the world.

This means that teams' air miles may increase dramatically as flights that were once only a few hours long now take half a day.

How many international games does Roger Goodell have on tap in 2024?

Roger Goodell at Super Bowl LVIII, Chiefs Press Conference, Source: Getty

While Roger Goodell's league may have a greater international reach in the future, the NFL already has a significant foothold outside the United States this season. This year, the league will put on five international games, the first of which takes place on Friday.

After the conclusion of the Green Bay Packers-Philadelphia Eagles showdown in Brazil, the league will play four games in Europe, per NFL media.

The first game will take place one month after the Brazil showdown on October 6 between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets in London.

Then, the league will have a game on October 13 between the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. One week later, the Jaguars will take on the Patriots on October 20 in Wembley Park..

The final international game of the season will take place on Sunday, November 10, in Germany between the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants.

Put simply, there will be a break after the Packers and Eagles square off before a nearly weekly barrage of Europe games taking place throughout October and into November.

If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Good Morning Football" and H/T Sportskeeda.