Eagles to play in first NFL game in Australia? Not if it’s up to Jeffrey Lurie.
The Eagles have marketing rights in Australia, but Lurie appeared to throw cold water on the idea that they could face off against the Los Angeles Rams in in Melbourne in 2026.
Are the Birds headed down under?
The Herald Sun newspaper in Australia reports Melbourne will host an NFL regular-season game in October 2026 featuring the Los Angeles Rams, and the Eagles will be their “likely” opponent.
The game is set to be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which can hold 100,000 people, the Herald reported, adding Australia is set to host up to the regular-season NFL games over several years.
The NFL declined to comment. Commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t asked about the report at a Super Bowl news conference Monday afternoon, but Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie appeared to throw cold water on the idea during the evening’s opening night festivities.
“It’s an impossibility because it’s the Rams and we’re at home,” Lurie told reporters. “We’re not giving up a home game.”
Retired NFL writer Peter King wrote in an email newsletter the Rams’ opponent has not been finalized, and could also be the Arizona Cardinals. King also wrote the game is likely to be scheduled for Saturday at noon in Australia, which would equate to Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern, the same time the Eagles-Packers game in Brazil aired on the East Coast earlier this season.
“The Rams would land back in Los Angeles around 3 pm PT Saturday, take Sunday off and resume their regular week Monday for a week two game the following Sunday,” King wrote. “The Eagles and Packers had a similar routine after their week one game in Brazil this season.”
The NFL has hosted international games since 2005, putting teams in front of fans in England, Mexico, and Germany. The league added Brazil this season, and next year the Miami Dolphins will play the NFL’s first regular-season game in Madrid, Spain. Goodell has also said the league expects to add Asia to the list of locations to host NFL games.
The league can schedule up to eight international games in 2025. So far we know about five:
New York Jets; Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; London, England
Cleveland Browns; Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; London, England
Jacksonville Jaguars; Wembley Stadium; London, England
Miami Dolphins; Santiago Bernabéu Stadium; Madrid, Spain
Indianapolis Colts; Olympic Stadium; Berlin, Germany
In recent years, the Eagles have taken their marketing rights into Australia and New Zealand in an attempt to spread awareness for the team and the sport. The team has an obvious connection in offensive lineman Jordan Mailata, who grew up playing rugby and made his way to the NFL through the International Player Pathway Program.
“His story is so unique and special, and his connection to Australia is unique and special, and it just felt like an opportunity to look at the way that we can continue to tell Jordan’s story as a means of connecting people to the Eagles and ultimately, to football in Philadelphia,” Jen Kavanagh, the Eagles’ senior vice president of media and marketing, told The Inquirer in September.
Lurie didn’t completely shut the door on the Eagles playing a game in Australia. He just doesn’t want it to happen in 2026, when the Birds would have to give up one of their nine home games.
“We’ve fully endorsed the globalization of the sport,” Lurie said. “We love our superstar from Australia, we’re a natural team to play there, we are a marketing partner with Australia and New Zealand, we’re one of the designated partners. So if there’s an opportunity to be an away team there, we will embrace that.”
Staff writer EJ Smith contributed to this report.