NFL inks new multiyear deal to play regular-season games at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

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MADRID (AP) — The NFL will be back in Madrid for 2026 and beyond.

The league announced Monday it has reached a multiyear deal to keep playing regular-season games at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

It did not immediately say the length of the new agreement or which teams will play in 2026.

The Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears currently have marketing rights in Spain as part of the league’s Global Markets Program, which awards NFL teams rights in areas outside the U.S. to “build brand awareness and fandom through fan engagement, events and commercial opportunities.”

The first NFL regular-season game in Spain was played at the Bernabeu last November as the Dolphins defeated the Washington Commanders 16-13 in overtime before a crowd of 78,610 fans.

It was the seventh — and final — international game of the season, the most ever in one year for the league as it continues to expand globally.

NFL Spain country manager Rafa De Los Santos said the multiyear agreement to playing games in Madrid “underlines our commitment to the market and enables us to continue to engage fans year-round and invest long-term in initiatives like NFL Flag and youth participation.”

The NFL said Spain is “an important market globally,” with 11 million fans. It said it will also focus on developing the league’s flag football initiatives across the country.

After the first game in Madrid last year, there had also been talks of the league also trying to organize a game in Barcelona at some point.

The NFL played for the first time in Dublin and Berlin in 2025. It also returned for a second straight year to Sao Paulo and played three more games in London.

The NFL said it planned to increase the number of international games to a point where each team will get to play a game abroad every year. Goodell said last year the NFL also wants to play in Asia.

This year, it will go to Australia and add a game in Rio de Janeiro. It will also play a game in Munich, Germany, and three in London, with “additional games to be announced.”

The NFL says it has played 62 regular-season games outside the U.S. so far, with London, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dublin, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto as hosts.

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