CNBC Sport: NFL set for first-ever game in Melbourne, Australia, in international expansion

The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams are heading to Australia, marking the longest-ever distance two NFL teams have traveled for a game.

It's all part of the league's push to expand American football globally. A record nine international regular-season games will be played in 2026 – kicking off in Melbourne, the city's first NFL game, and followed by inaugural match-ups in Rio de Janeiro and Paris.

The schedule also brings professional football to London, Madrid, Munich and Mexico City. NFL owners have already approved 10 international games for the 2027 season – the maximum number of games the league can play outside the United States per its current collective bargaining agreement with players.

While NFL games are consistently the most-watched programming on television, the vast majority of the league's interest is American. For some context, last year's Week 1 game in Sao Paulo, Brazil — streamed on YouTube — between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers drew 18.5 million viewers in the U.S. and just 1.2 million viewers internationally.

That delta is what's driving NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to seek global growth. Goodell has previously said he'd like to have up to 16 international games on the schedule. He also recently said he had "no doubt" a team would eventually be permanently located outside the U.S.

"We are committed to continue to grow every year in what we're doing," NFL Executive Vice President Peter O'Reilly said in a conference call for reporters on Wednesday. "We learn in each new market and then build upon that. That will be true as we move forward.

As the commissioner said, we have aspirations to go beyond that. We want to do it the right way – to go to the right markets at the right time." The NFL has a designed strategy to grow the game internationally.

One key part is the league's relatively little-known Global Markets Program. Launched in 2022, the program gives NFL teams specific international marketing rights to build brand awareness and fandom. Every team owns at least one market.

When games are played abroad, the teams that own those markets are the de facto "home team." The Rams own marketing rights in Australia. Later this year, when the 49ers play in Mexico – a region where they own rights – they'll be the home team.

NFL clubs can apply for rights to international markets by submitting proposals to the International Committee for review each spring. The markets are often mildly based on geography. For example, the Rams own marketing rights in countries more easily accessible by West Coast teams, such as Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and — like the 49ers — Mexico.

It also owns rights in the United Arab Emirates. Get the CNBC Sport newsletter directly to your inbox The CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media, delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe here to get access today. Other franchises' rights are more driven by their specific owners' wishes.

The Detroit Lions own Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany and Switzerland. The Los Angeles Chargers have Greece – and only Greece. Chargers owner Dean Spanos has Greek heritage.

The NFL has chosen a team-led strategy to grow fandom internationally because it wants buy-in from its franchise owners, O'Reilly said. "It's one part of a larger strategy," O'Reilly said. "Having a favorite team is a key driver of lifelong fandom.

Giving the clubs the option to apply, you want them to align with markets they're going to get behind. For the vast majority, those markets align with the markets we're committed to. It allows clubs the freedom to tailor to their priorities … working with our folks on the ground.

" Entering this season, 62 regular-season NFL games have been played outside the United States. But there's no certainty the NFL's international strategy will significantly increase the sport's popularity. Some of the challenge lies in time zone differences.

Primetime games timed for a U.S. market mean taking the field in the middle of the night in Europe and in the morning in Australia. The Rams and Niners are kicking off at 10:35 a.m. local time on a Friday next week. It's difficult to grow a sport globally when start times need to cater toward Americans.

The NFL has found 9:30 a.m. ET to be a sweet sport start time for European games – but TV ratings for those games have consistently been lower than Sunday afternoon and night contests. It's also an open question of just how popular this international movement is with players, who must take long plane rides and battle jet lag with time differences.

While the 49ers left Wednesday for Australia, the Rams aren't arriving in the country until next week, 24 hours before game time.