The National Football League is examining Japan as a potential future market as it accelerates one of the largest international expansions in the league's history.
NFL executive Brett Gosper said Friday that Japan is among the markets the league is considering as American football strengthens its presence outside the United States.
The discussion comes as the NFL prepares to play a record nine international regular-season games across seven countries this season.
The schedule demonstrates how aggressively the league is attempting to turn American football into a broader global entertainment product.
International NFL games were once occasional showcases concentrated largely in London. The league has since expanded into markets including Germany, Brazil and Spain and is preparing for its first regular-season game in Australia.
The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams are scheduled to meet in Australia in September, representing another significant step in the strategy.
Japan could eventually become part of that expansion.
The country has a long history of consuming American sports, particularly baseball and basketball, and organized American football has been played there for decades.
That existing foundation makes Japan potentially attractive to the NFL despite the logistical challenges created by travel distance and time-zone differences.
Gosper, who oversees the NFL's operations in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, said the league ultimately wants to become one of the three most popular sports in the markets it enters over the coming decade.
That ambition represents a significant business opportunity.
The NFL already dominates television audiences in the United States, meaning international markets offer one of the clearest paths for expanding its long-term fan base.
New markets can generate revenue through broadcast rights, sponsorships, merchandise, ticket sales and commercial partnerships.
They can also create opportunities for youth participation programs and international player development.
The league's global strategy has become increasingly visible through the International Player Pathway program, which provides athletes from outside the United States with opportunities to pursue NFL roster positions.
Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata, who grew up in Australia and previously played rugby league, is among the most prominent examples of a player emerging through an international pathway.
Players with connections to specific overseas markets can help the NFL build audiences in those countries by giving fans a direct personal link to the league.
The international expansion also reflects changes in media.
Streaming platforms have made American sporting events easier to distribute globally, while social media allows fans to follow teams and individual players regardless of location.
The primary logistical problem remains the physical schedule.
NFL teams play only 17 regular-season games, making each home date commercially valuable. Sending teams across multiple time zones also creates travel and recovery challenges that coaches and players must manage.
The league therefore has to expand internationally without creating a competitive disadvantage or significantly reducing access for traditional U.S. ticket holders.
Gosper said the NFL's longer-term target could involve approximately 16 international games by 2030 while preserving the number of games available to American fans.
That would amount to nearly a full extra week of NFL games staged outside the United States.
For sports-business audiences, the strategy provides a useful example of what happens when a mature domestic league looks abroad for its next stage of growth.
American football does not possess soccer's global reach, and its equipment, rules and specialized positions can make grassroots participation more difficult than in simpler sports.
The NFL nevertheless has considerable advantages.
It possesses some of the world's most valuable sports franchises, enormous broadcast reach and a championship event, the Super Bowl, that already attracts international attention.
The question is whether occasional overseas games can eventually produce durable local fan communities.
Japan could become an important test if the league decides to stage a regular-season game there.
Friday's comments did not amount to confirmation of a Japanese game or establish a timetable.
They did make the league's direction increasingly clear.
The NFL is no longer treating international games as isolated experiments. With a record nine overseas contests scheduled and further markets under consideration, global expansion is becoming a central part of the league's business strategy.
Men’s Insider Contributor
Nicole Warren
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