SAN FRANCISCO – At the biggest sporting event in the U.S., international media outlets, music stars, celebrities and foreign-born players made it clear: The Super Bowl has branched into a variety of foreign markets on an ever-growing scale.
At Super Bowl Radio Row – an event featuring media, broadcasts and reporters in preparation for the big game – constituents from Ireland, Mexico, Australia and Germany showcased their country’s appreciation for American football.
“It’s exploded in the last probably 10 years or so, really since they started bringing the competitive games in 2007,” British NFL play-by-play broadcaster Will Gavin said. “But really like the last 10 years, it’s just grown exponentially to the point where we went and watched the championship games … in a bar with some buddies.”
American football’s growth in the U.K. is supported by the fact that since the inception of NFL games in London, in 2007, there has not been a game attended by fewer than 60,000 fans.
Additionally, according to the NFL Network, the 2025 slate of international games averaged 6.2 million viewers, which is the highest average on record.
Outside of the professional ranks, Arizona State’s football team will tread in unfamiliar waters when it plays Kansas in London’s iconic Wembley Stadium, the 17th biggest stadium in the world, on Sept. 19.
“I’m super excited that we’re gonna be calling a college game at Wembley this year,” Gavin said. “More importantly, ASU gets to go there. So you know getting college [football] into the country now is great.”
The growing international market for American football coincides with a growth in both fan bases overseas and players as well. At Super Bowl Opening Night, where large media scrums are commonplace, one particular herd of cameras and microphones stood out from the rest.
Lorenz Metz, a player who was signed to the Patriots’ practice squad a little less than a month before the Super Bowl, was so popular, he was nearly impossible to reach. Countless media members waited for more than 30 minutes to try and speak to Metz to no avail. The German news presence surrounding the New England offensive tackle was impenetrable and the interview was lengthy.
Metz is from Neuötting, Germany. He played college football at the University of Cincinnati before the Chicago Bears signed him in 2023. Since then, Metz has been signed to two other teams as an International Pathway Player, which is a project the NFL has created to increase participation in the NFL from players born outside the United States and Canada.
The fact that multiple reporters could not reach a player who failed to appear in any games during the 2025-26 season speaks to the influence and notoriety that international players have in the U.S. as well as in their native country.
The NFL has not only gained popularity across the Atlantic but also right next door in Mexico.
While at Super Bowl Radio Row, Cronkite Sports spoke with members of ABC Radio Mexico City about the NFL and specifically the popularity of the Arizona Cardinals.
Mario Atzin, a sports commentator for la Universidad Anáhuac Mexico Norte and host of Atzin Sportsnet, said the path to gaining fandom in Mexico is simple for the Cardinals.
“Oh, I know the answer: It’s win,” Atzin said. “I’m a Steelers fan because I remember back in, I think it was 2008-09, being in a restaurant with my family and seeing the Santonio Holmes catch.”
Atzin was referring to the game-winning catch Holmes’ snagged against the Cardinals during the Super Bowl in 2009. Atzin believes that similar iconic moments help create NFL fans from international audiences.
Despite the Cardinals’ recent struggles, Atzin believes there is a passionate base of Cardinals fans in Mexico. Those fans would love to see the Cardinals return to Mexico City where they played in 2005 and 2022.
The Mexican NFL community “loves football. I mean they love-love football,” Atzin said. “They love all of the teams so I think if the Cardinals go down to Mexico they’re gonna be huge and it’ll be sold out.”
With an open slot in 2026 for a game in Mexico City, another game in the city of palaces remains a possibility.
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