Eagles will host first-ever NFL game in Brazil with a Friday season opener

The Birds are headed to South America in September.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell dropped some big, unexpected news during his pre-Super Bowl press conference on Monday: the Philadelphia Eagles are hosting the first-ever NFL game in South America next season.

The Eagles will be playing one of nine potential opponents at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday, September 6. That’s one day after the annual NFL Kickoff Game set to take place between the defending Super Bowl LVIII champion and another team.

Statement from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie:

“The Eagles organization is honored to have been selected to play in the first-ever National Football League game in South America. With the global growth of our sport being a top priority to our league, we embrace the opportunity to grow our fanbase around the world and bring Eagles football to the 38 million sports fans in Brazil. One of the world’s most culturally diverse nations, Brazil is an international melting pot, and we look forward to experiencing its warm, vibrant, and welcoming environment later this year.”

There are obviously some pros and cons to this news.

On one hand, it’s cool that the Eagles are making history and giving fans reason to travel to a new destination for a lot of people. They will also likely have a rest advantage over their Week 2 opponent.

On the other hand, the Eagles are losing a game with home field advantage at Lincoln Financial Field. That’s never fun.

But what’s done is done: the Eagles are going to Brazil. It seems like they actually have a decent following down there if what I’ve seen from BGN web traffic/comments/podcast downloads and Brazil-based Eagles social media accounts are any indication. This news is pretty cool for those fans.

More details about the game are still to come. We don’t yet know exactly which team they’ll be playing or when kickoff will begin (note: Sao Paolo is two hours ahead of Eastern Time). More specifics are expected to be announced closer to the entire 2024 NFL schedule release in the spring (typically mid-May).