NFL in Australia: Why are Los Angeles Rams playing San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne?

The attendance in Melbourne is set to fall just short of the NFL record for a regular-season game - 105,121 for the New York Giants at the Dallas Cowboys in 2009

The NFL has so far played regular-season games in seven international countries but this week's trip to Australia represents a new frontier.

It will take place about 10,000 miles from the NFL's New York headquarters, in front of about 100,000 fans at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

But when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell visited the MCG for the first time in April, he said the historic arena "speaks to you", and it says "this is the right place to be".

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Live NFL games have been broadcast in Australia since 1995 and a pre-season exhibition game was held in Sydney in 1999.

The league pivoted away from a potential overseas franchise to playing more games internationally. It has invested in new markets before deciding whether to take a game there, holding year-round events to build the fanbase.

According to the league, the number of fans in Australia has nearly doubled since 2022 to 8.8 million - almost one in three of the country's entire population.

The NFL played a big part in flag being approved for its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028 and has expanded the sport from 10 schools in Australia to more than 500.

Nick Bosa and his San Francisco team-mates have been training at AAMI Park, the football/rugby stadium which is part of Melbourne Park

Being a sports-mad country, Australia was always on the NFL's radar, and after testing long-distance logistics with trips to Brazil in 2024 and 2025, the league felt ready to head down under.

A deal was announced in February 2025, during Super Bowl week, and while some fans expressed anger at ticket prices when they went on sale in April 2026, they sold out in minutes.