The NFL Network Made History With This Season's Europe Games

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Nov 20, 2025 12:38 PM ET

Like them or hate them, the NFL International Series in Europe is here to stay. And judging by the ratings, they're likely to become more prominent - not less.

The final NFL game in Europe of 2025 was played in Spain this past week and NFL Network has finally collected all of the ratings data from that and their five other games across Ireland, England and Germany. The final average between the six games was 6.2 million viewers, which Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk noted was a 32-percent increase from last year's games. It is also the best year that the NFL Network has ever had for its Sunday morning games.

"NFL Network averaged 6.2 million viewers for its six Sunday morning games (one in Dublin, three in London, one in Berlin, one in Madrid), which is an increase of 32 percent from the average audience for last year’s Sunday morning games, and the best year NFL Network has ever had for its Sunday morning package," Smith wrote.

NFL Network had its most-watched slate of Sunday morning Europe games this season. https://t.co/dghSATsL9N
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 20, 2025

Why the expansion to Europe?

As much as NFL fans may despise the overseas games, the league's determination to carve a foothold beyond the 50 U.S. States comes from a very simple motivation.

The NFL has achieved total market saturation in the United States. Their games - even ones with low stakes - hold most of the top 50-100 broadcast ratings in the U.S. for a given year. 19 of top 20 most-watched TV broadcasts in U.S. history are Super Bowls (and they set new records seemingly every year).

The NFL has effectively achieved all it possibly can within the United States. Having built all the way up, the only direction to build now is outwards.

Nov 14, 2025; Madrid, Spain; A general overall view of Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with images of Miami Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb (2) and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1). Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

While formally planting its flag by expanding the league beyond 32 teams doesn't seem imminent, that has to be a part of the league's long-term discussions. There are certainly more than enough billionaires outside of the U.S. who would be happy to invest in their own team given that so many NFL teams have a higher valuation than even some of the biggest soccer teams.

Suffice it to say, Europe is only going to become a bigger part of the NFL experience on a yearly basis.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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