NFL owners' meetings recap: Jalen Hurts investigation, international expansion among key topics

The Fall league meeting serves as the NFL's annual midseason check-in, giving owners an opportunity to assess everything from business performance to health and safety concerns. This week's meetings offered another glimpse into those priorities.

Sports Illustrated senior NFL writer and "The Albert Breer Show" podcast host Albert Breer highlighted the most significant topics discussed in New York for the NFL fall meeting. Below, we recap some key topics.

NFLPA keeps pressure on league over Jalen Hurts medical situation

The NFL's attempt to turn the page on the Jalen Hurts medical situation hit an immediate roadblock at the owners' meetings. The NFLPA demanded a full investigation, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell left little room for resistance by publicly endorsing the idea.

"Hurts traveled Friday night into Saturday with the Eagles to London. He was told, like all his teammates, to stay awake through Saturday to acclimate for Sunday’s 2:30 p.m. local (9:30 a.m. Philly time) kickoff. He did, but his calf pain, which he thought came from getting cleated the week before, worsened. So the team doctors took a look, brought him to the Cleveland Clinic in London, and an ultrasound discovered the superficial clot," via Breer.

More international games?

Judy Battista of NFL Network had reported that the NFL was considering playing 10 international games in 2027. It would be an increase from the nine games overseas this season. The league's international ambitions remain constrained by a collective bargaining agreement that allows a maximum of 10 games abroad.

“We are considering going up to 10 games next year and want to make sure we have the right 10 games,” NFL vice president of club business, international and league events, Peter O’Reilly said, via The Athletic. “This is limited inventory, and we want to make sure each one of those games is as impactful as possible.”

Breer circled 2028 as a key date for the NFL to look at "going to Tokyo."  

The NFL's push into Japan reflects a simple reality: London and Germany were just the beginning. If the NFL plans to take games to Tokyo, it'll be because league executives see Asia as the next billion-dollar growth opportunity, and they want to arrive before any rival sport claims that territory first.

"The timeline to examine here is Australia’s. They announced that game at the Super Bowl in February 2025, more than a year and a half ahead of time," Breer wrote. "To give everyone enough runway to plan. If the NFL followed that template with Japan, they’d announce plans to go there at this year’s Super Bowl."

The NFL's global ambitions aren't measured in months; they're measured in years. Australia proved the league is willing to build a market long before kickoff, and a potential move into Japan would be the clearest sign yet that international expansion has become one of the NFL's core business priorities.