What was once expected is now official: the Pittsburgh Steelers will not play an international game in the 2024 season.
In a special episode from the Good Morning Football crew, the NFL revealed the international schedule, of which the Steelers were not part of.
It was already known that the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers would open the 2024 season on Friday, Sept. 6 in Brazil, but the Good Morning Football crew unveiled the rest of the international games.
In Week 5, the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings will play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Week 6 will feature a matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and in Week 7 the New England Patriots and Jaguars will play at Wembley Stadium.
In Week 10, the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers will battle in Munich as part of the NFL’s showcase in Germany.
All four designated teams playing in the U.K. and Germany in the Bears, Vikings, Jaguars and Panthers are part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program, which awards international marketing rights to NFL teams to build fandom and realize brand and commercial opportunities.
Two of the teams that received international games in the Jets and Giants play Pittsburgh this season, so it will be interesting to see how they are slotted on the Steelers’ schedule when the NFL reveals the dates and times later tonight.
So there you have it: no Steelers international games this season. But again, that is not a surprise, it’s just confirmation from what was expected, based on comments from team owner Art Rooney II throughout the offseason.
The Steelers haven’t played an international game since 2013 when they traveled to London to play against the Minnesota Vikings, losing that game, 34-27. Despite no international game since 2013, there is some hope on the horizon to see the Black and Gold playing across the pond in Europe.
Rooney said in one of his end-of-season media sessions that all teams will be playing internationally at least once over the next few years as a part of the NFL’s expanded global markets program. The Steelers have market rights in Mexico, The Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Germany as part of the global markets program.
So, chances are the next international game for the Steelers, whenever that may be, will be in one of those countries.
Rooney stated this offseason he hopes to play in one of those markets sooner than later.
“We’d love to play a game in all of those places, but I’m not sure how quickly that can happen,” Rooney told Steelers.com’s Dale Lolley.
The best bet for an international game for the Steelers could be a Mexico game in 2025, according to the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac.
For another season, at least, the Steelers don’t have to worry about traveling to another country to play a football game.
