Aaron Rodgers backs idea of 'NFL International games week' after leading Pittsburgh Steelers to victory in Paris

Rodgers and the Steelers made history last year when they beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL's Dublin debut at Croke Park, before travelling overseas again this week to deliver another milestone moment for the league in the French capital.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell revealed on Friday that the league has plans to play a game in Tokyo, Japan in either 2027 or 2028, with wider ambitions of reaching 16 international games per season.

"I really look forward to that. We know that soccer worldwide probably has the most amount of fans. If you watch the World Cup at all, you know how fanatical the people for their country teams are. But the NFL is still shown in a number of countries, the Super Bowl is shown in over 100 countries; the reach of the league is fantastic," said Rodgers.

"I think I always wanted to be a part of it. I remember the 2011 CBA, there was talk about expanding the amount of international games, didn't really a whole lot until the second CBA.

"And there was talk about doing an international week, where you had games in 16 different places and you just added an extra bye week. I think it would have been phenomenal for the game.

"Now that the owners want to push for 17 games for the extra revenue and because they care so much about player safety. But it would have been nice."

Sunday's game in Paris featured as part of a record nine international games being played during the 2026 campaign, joining Melbourne and Rio de Janeiro as the league's newest host territories.

The NFL will now head to Madrid, Munich and Mexico City over the next month amid what has taken shape as a Formula 1-style format.

"You could do obviously Canada, you could do Mexico," Rodgers continued. "There's been games in Brazil. You could probably open up another country in South America. Obviously there's a lot of opportunities in Europe, Ireland is fantastic, France, Spain, Germany, multiple games in England. And then who knows?

"There's Dubai, those areas really got into the sporting world in a number of ways, you got boxing and UFC, so I think there's great opportunities for expansion in those.

"It'd be awesome to see them have an international week because I think it's great for the game and the expansion of the game."

The Steelers arrived late into Paris this week as they landed on Friday morning before heading straight into media availability at their hotel. Rodgers said at the time he wished the team had flown in at the beginning of the week as the Saints had.

Arrival time has become a prominent talking point surrounding the NFL's international games, the Rams landing in Melbourne just a day before their defeat to the San Francisco 49ers. It came a year after Sean McVay's side dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium having flown in on the eve of the game, a strategy that did not work in Australia.

"I wish there was a mandate from the league and they would have to open up their pocketbooks, too, which, you know, maybe a little tight on money and stuff," said Rodgers.

"But I think they should mandate every team coming over Sunday or Monday to really enjoy the culture and the place you're going. And you can do events in those cities and outreach stuff and community work. But they won't because they're a little tight."

Watch the 2026 NFL season live on Sky Sports, including every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LXI on Sunday February 14, 2027. Get Sky Sports or stream contract-free with NOW.