Goodell Says NFL Expects a Tokyo Regular-Season Game in 2027 or 2028

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league expects to play a regular-season game in Tokyo in 2027 or 2028, according to ESPN. He made the remarks Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, and it is a target window, not a scheduled game.

What Goodell said

Goodell spoke to NFL Daily while in Paris ahead of Sunday's Steelers-Saints game, which ESPN describes as the first regular-season game ever played in that city, The Japan Times reported. NBC Sports/PFT identified the interviewers as Gregg Rosenthal and Jourdan Rodrigue, per its Yahoo Sports syndication.

"Listen, Tokyo is clearly on our list, whether it's next year or the year after. It's coming at some point in the near future," Goodell said. He also told the show, according to The Japan Times: "We're planning on playing global. That's where we're going."

The outlets framed it a little differently. ESPN says the league is "targeting" a game, NBC says Goodell "expects" one, and Yahoo says the NFL is "eyeing" it. All three give the same 2027 or 2028 window, so the wording is the only difference.

Why a Tokyo game would be a big deal

The NFL has never played a regular-season game in Japan. According to Yahoo Sports, the league staged 14 preseason games there from 1976 to 2005, 13 in Tokyo and one in Osaka. The most recent was Falcons vs. Colts in 2005, TSN notes.

Goodell has been building toward this for months. Per ESPN and TSN, he said in July at Fanatics Fest that he hoped to bring a regular-season game to Tokyo. He has also said the success of the 49ers-Rams Week 1 game in Melbourne, Australia, and the lessons learned there could help make a Japan game happen.

The numbers behind the push

The collective bargaining agreement allows up to 10 international games per season, according to ESPN. The league is playing nine this year, and The Japan Times reports that five had been played as of Oct. 23. Peter O'Reilly said earlier in the week that expanding to 10 was under consideration for 2027, per ESPN. O'Reilly also named Asia among the "new regions" the league is looking at, according to TSN and ESPN.

What we don't know yet

None of the sources report a venue, teams, a date or a formal league announcement for a Tokyo game. For now, this is a commissioner stating intent and a timeline, with a long preseason history in Japan as the backdrop. Expect the real details to arrive with the league's future international schedule announcements.