Update on if NFL is considering an overseas Super Bowl revealed

For years, certain members of the NFL community have suggested that it's a matter of when and not if the league will accept a proposal to host a Super Bowl overseas in a country such as England, Germany or Australia. 

During a Monday media teleconference, NFL executive vice president for international and league events Peter O’Reilly shared that a Super Bowl occurring outside of the United States is not on the league's radar at this time. 

Is NFL focused on holding a Super Bowl outside of the U.S.?

"We’re clearly focused on the near term with Super Bowls in the U.S., given the great demand and the great impact of those Super Bowls in the U.S. and the great number of both interested and fantastic Super Bowl cities," O’Reilly explained, according to Jayna Bardahl and Jimmy Durkin of The Athletic. "Weather is always a factor as it comes to any of our events, certainly as it relates to the Super Bowl, but it’s not the only factor. And I think, more importantly, we would look at if and when, at some point down the line, if it made sense to consider an international Super Bowl, we would look at that among many other factors."

Following the Week 1 matchup involving the Los Angeles Chargers beating the Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo, Brazil, earlier in September, the NFL has six more international games on the schedule for the ongoing season. Those contests will take place in Dublin, London, Berlin and Madrid. 

As noted by Fox Sports, Super Bowl locations through the 2027 campaign have already been locked down. That said, Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London are often mentioned as potential host sites for either a Super Bowl or an NFL Draft. While London is five hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States in February, Matt Hughes of the Daily Mail mentioned back in 2022 that an afternoon kickoff in Sydney, Australia, would hit "prime-time American TV audiences." 

Does NFL want to hold a draft or Pro Bowl overseas?

One way the NFL could test out potential plans for a future overseas Super Bowl could be to hold either a draft or a Pro Bowl in a European country. However, O’Reilly said on Monday that "there’s nothing imminent in terms of an international event for one of those right now." 

The "right now" portion of his comment could have been doing some heavy lifting. After all, it's thought that some within the league would like expansion to include the creation of an entire international division of clubs. Perhaps coupling the addition of that division with a European Super Bowl will be part of negotiations regarding a new collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expires after the 2030 season.