Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has the most diverse passport in the NFL, regardless of his trip to Egypt during mandatory minicamp in 2024 or wherever he goes to do ayahuasca. Rodgers, who only played in a foreign country in 2022, has now started games in England, Ireland and France.
After Sunday’s 16-10 victory over the Saints in Paris, Rodgers told reporters that the last collective bargaining agreement could have included a full-fledged international week, with 16 games in 16 foreign countries.
“The scope of the league is fantastic and I think I always wanted to be a part of it,” Rodgers said via Garrett Podell of CBS Sports. “I think it would have been phenomenal for the game. Now the owners wanted to push for 17 games to get additional revenue because they care so much about player safety, but that would have been nice.”
Seventeen regular season games and a full week of international games aren’t mutually exclusive, on the surface. However, while Rodgers was reportedly in favor of a full-fledged international week, many players would not be happy about playing one game a year in another country every year. (Even if 16 international matches seem inevitable at the next CBA.)
Rodgers still wants to see an international week, even as he finishes what he believes will be his final season in the NFL.
“I think there are great opportunities for expansion in these areas,” Rodgers said. “It would be great to see them, you know, have an international week because I think it’s great for the game and the expansion of the game. And I wish there was a mandate, though, from the league (that) they should also open their wallets, and they’re maybe a little strapped for cash and everything. I think they should mandate every team coming on Sunday or Monday to really take advantage of the culture and the place that you’re going to. You could have events in these cities and outreach activities and community work But they I won’t do it because they are tight.
Although Rodgers and I disagree on various topics, I completely agree with him on this. The league is, to put it mildly, extremely conservative when it comes to money.
Still, it’s hard to imagine that all 16 international matches will take place in the same week. The morning window of the European games has the potential to become a broadcast program in its own right. Similarly, scrambling the 16 international matches would limit cities like London to just two matches per season – one at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium.
Bottom line? Sixteen international matches are to come. But it seems unlikely that all 16 international matches will be played in the same week.
Gn sports
