With just 12 wins and one head coach employed between them, the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets will be glad to see the back of 2024. They can at least look forward to a change of scene in 2025.

The AFC trio will head to London as host teams later this year — the Browns and Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Jaguars at Wembley Stadium, the league announced Friday.

The NFL will play up to eight games outside of the United States in 2025. Five are confirmed, with three in London, one in Berlin and another at the renovated Santiago Bernabeu, the €1.76billion ($1.91bn, £1.51bn) 85,000-capacity home of 15-time European champions Real Madrid.

The NFL will announce the remaining host teams and cities for 2025’s international slate in the near future ahead of a full schedule release in the spring.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has made little secret of his desire to turn the NFL into a global sport. Speaking in Munich in November, Goodell said: “We will certainly be back in the UK. And we’re also looking at the potential of another game in the UK area, in Ireland, possibly. … That’s a possibility.” Goodell added that he is aiming to eventually expand the regular season to 18 weeks to include 16 international games.

The Jets made their first visit in 2015 and last played at Tottenham in October, the 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings the final game of Robert Saleh’s stint as head coach.

“The success of the NFL’s international games speaks directly to the sport’s increasing global reach, and we are proud to continue as ambassadors of the game,” said Jets president Hymie Elhai.

The Jaguars have played 13 times in the English capital (7-6), including back-to-back weekends in 2023 and 2024. Their last game, a 32-16 win over New England at Wembley, was watched by 86,651 fans and set a record for NFL London games.

“We are once again delighted that we will be back in London later this year for our 14th game in the capital and are grateful for our extended partnership with the Football Association that makes it possible to play another home game at Wembley Stadium, one of the world’s most iconic stadiums and the Jaguars’ home away from home,” said Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan.

Jets keen to maintain a presence

The Jets were expected to get a home game in London in 2025, especially because of owner Woody Johnson’s ties to the United Kingdom as a former U.S. ambassador and his desire for the Jets to have a presence over there.

The Jets played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year and lost against the Vikings (Naomi Baker / Getty Images)

The Jets played in London last year, losing to the Vikings and firing Saleh a few days later. They’ll have a new coach in 2025, so at least there’s no risk of any significant firings occurring in the days after this London game. It’s unclear if Aaron Rodgers will be the Jets’ quarterback this time around, so it could be a completely new-look team.  — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer

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Cleveland will embrace the experience

The Browns wanted to open last season in Brazil. The league ultimately didn’t want Deshaun Watson in a spotlight game, so the Browns went 3-14 exclusively on American soil. The news that the Browns will host a London game is not surprising and the team will embrace the challenges and spotlight that come with it.

The last time the Browns played in London, in 2017, they ended up going 0-16. Myles Garrett was a rookie then and didn’t make the trip due to a concussion. Garrett has threatened to demand a trade, but the Browns plan to keep him and hope he will be a part of not only their next London game but also have a bounce-back season in 2025. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer

NFL International Series on the rise

Munich’s Allianz Arena hosted Germany’s first regular season game in 2022, an occasion fondly recalled by Tom Brady.

After back-to-back games in Frankfurt in 2023, the NFL returned to the home of 33-time German champions Bayern Munich last year, as the Carolina Panthers beat the New York Giants in overtime.

A third German host city has been added in 2025, with Berlin’s Olympiastadion announcing a three-year deal with the NFL last month.

The 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena hosted the Giants @ Panthers game in November 2024 (Adam Pretty / Getty Images)

Last September in Brazil, the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles played at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, the first regular-season game in the southern hemisphere.

“We’re always looking at other markets and cities, and even in Brazil, we could head to Rio instead of Sao Paulo,” Goodell said in October, via beIN Sports.

Mexico City’s Stadio Azteca has hosted six NFL games, the last in 2022. The stadium is currently undergoing renovations to increase capacity to 90,000 ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The NFL is keen to return.

NFL owners voted to expand the regular season to 17 games in 2021, with the AFC and NFC alternating between nine and eight home games a season.

Since 2007 London has hosted 39 regular-season games — 26 at Wembley, 10 at Tottenham and three at Twickenham, the home of England’s rugby team.

“This season will see us surpass 40 regular-season games in the capital, a testament to the role the UK has played in growing the game globally,’ said NFL UK & Ireland general manager Henry Hodgson.

Five divisional games have been played in London: Jets-Dolphins in 2015, Colts-Jaguars in 2016, Cardinals-Rams in 2017, Panthers-Bucs in 2019 and Texans-Jaguars in 2019.

Required reading

(Top photo: Al Bello/Getty Images)