The Pittsburgh Steelers have not played an international game since 2013, when they traveled across the Atlantic ocean to play the Minnesota Vikings in London. During one of his end-of-season media sessions, team president Art Rooney II stated that more international games would be coming as every team will be playing in one over the next few years as a part of the NFL’s expansion of its global markets program.
Each team was awarded certain international markets that they get to market to as the league starts to ramp up its product across the globe. According to a press release by the NFL operations page last May, the Steelers’ markets are Mexico, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac was asked during his Steelers chat on Tuesday if the Steelers would be playing in Mexico anytime soon.
“It’s coming,” Dulac wrote. “2025.”
It is unclear if this is being reported as fact, or just speculation based on the global markets program and the words of Rooney just a couple months ago.
For what it’s worth, Mexico is one of the countries that has the most NFL teams assigned to it. The Steelers are one of nine teams with rights to market there. Ireland, on the other hand, has just the Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
I would guess for Mexico, the NFL would want to send two of those nine teams with marketing rights to play there the next time the city hosts a game. The last game hosted there in 2022 was between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, who both have rights to Mexico. The Steelers have played in Mexico before during the 2000 preseason against the Indianapolis Colts.
Estadio Azteca, the venue in which an NFL game would be played, is currently undergoing renovations as part of hosting the 2026 World Cup, so no games will be played there this season. According to Dulac, the Steelers could be the first NFL game there after the renovations are complete in 2025.
It was announced in early February that the Philadelphia Eagles would be hosting the NFL’s first-ever game in Brazil in Week 1 of the 2024 season. Their opponent hasn’t been officially confirmed, but the Steelers are one of the possible teams that could be their opponent. The Steelers have a road game on the schedule this season against the Eagles.
Also, just days ago, Rooney was on the Irish Steelers Podcast on the Steelers’ website and said he is hopeful for a game in Ireland sometime over the next few years. If the Mexico report from Dulac ends up being true, that could mean multiple international games for the team over the next few seasons.
