NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could double international games

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week the league is going to lean into international competition and could play as many as 16 games per season abroad in the next 5 years.

Goodell appeared at the CNBC CEO Council Summit alongside Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano and spoke to a variety of topics that also included private equity, franchise valuations and the economy.

Here are the highlights:

The NFL currently has seven international games on its 2025 schedule, the most in its history, hosting matchups in Brazil, England, Germany, Ireland and Spain. But Goodell said Monday that’s just the start.

“I do see 16 regular season games, and I do think that will happen in the very near future,” Goodell told CNBC’s Scott Wapner. “Within 5 years probably.”

The league has more than 200 million fans in the U.S., making international a big opportunity.

“International is an open market for us,” said Goodell. “We are excited about our potential.”

Marriott’s Capuano added sports travel is a huge revenue driver, with sports-related travel representing more than $50 billion annually and 10% of global tourism.

Marriott has a long-standing partnership with the NFL as the official hotel partner of the league.

Goodell also reflected on the rise of private equity in the NFL.

In August, the league became the last of the major U.S. professional sports leagues to allow private equity investment, greenlighting certain PE firms to take up to a 10% stake in teams.

Investment was limited to a small group of firms: Ares Management, Sixth Street Partners, Arctos Partners and a consortium nicknamed “The Avengers” that includes Dynasty Equity, Blackstone, Carlyle Group, CVC Capital Partners and Ludis, a platform founded by investor and former NFL running back Curtis Martin.

Goodell said this week the league is close to allowing an additional private equity firm to join the ranks.

“There’s enough demand for it that we think it’s the right step,” Goodell said.

The commissioner added teams have found the private equity money helpful in providing liquidity.

Goodell said he was surprised by how quickly team valuations have risen, but said it’s not something league officials focus on.

According to CNBC’s Official NFL valuations, the average club is worth $6.49 billion. The NFL is the most valuable sports league in the U.S. and in 2024, the league generated a record $23 billion in revenue.

The San Francisco 49ers have reached an agreement with a set of buyers to sell a 6.2% stake in the team at a record valuation of above $8.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address nonpublic dealings.

“It’s a statement about the business model itself and the popularity of it,” Goodell said Monday. “I think a lot of people are valuing our franchises because of the future, and that’s what we want to see, and that’s what we need.”

As many companies around the country grapple with waning consumer sentiment, stubborn inflation and broad import tariffs, Goodell said he doesn’t think the current climate will impact the NFL tremendously.

He said while the data shows consumer are pausing spending or not investing so far into the future, he thinks live sports are in a different category than general entertainment spending.

“There’s still great demand in our content,” Goodell said.

— CNBC’s Alex Sherman and Michael Ozanian contributed to this report.