Following a narrow win in Paris, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed that collective bargaining negotiations in 2020 once explored staging an entire week of 16 international games. The ambitious proposal ultimately collapsed as team owners pushed instead to add a seventeenth regular-season game for extra revenue.
No quarterback in the league boasts a passport quite like the veteran signal-caller. After spending his first 17 seasons exclusively with the Green Bay Packers without playing abroad, Rodgers eventually played in London in 2022 before continuing his international appearances in subsequent years. He added a stop in Dublin, Ireland, in 2025 before quarterbacking the Steelers to a 16-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.
Inside the 2020 Negotiations for a Global Week
Fresh off the historic matchup in Saint-Denis outside Paris, Rodgers pulled back the curtain on discussions held during the 2020 collective bargaining agreement talks between the league and the NFL Players Association. According to the quarterback, negotiators floated a concept that would have completely overhauled the regular-season schedule.
Aaron Rodgers during his postgame presser in Paris: “For a long time in Green Bay, we never got to go overseas because Lambeau was such an incredible home field advantage. Green Bay was never going to give up a game. Then finally we did in ’22. And I’ve enjoyed it. You know, I…
Under that discarded framework, the league would have played its full slate of 16 regular-season games while incorporating two bye weeks into the calendar. One of those pause weeks would have served as a dedicated international window, dispatching all 32 teams abroad simultaneously to play in 16 distinct foreign venues.
Why the Revenue Push Drowned Out Global Expansion
The grand international vision failed to survive boardroom politics. Rodgers pointed the finger squarely at club owners, asserting that financial incentives ultimately superseded a sweeping global showcase.
Now that the owners want to push for 17 games for the, you know, extra revenue and because they care so much about player safety, it [the international week] would have been nice.
The owners’ preference won out when the 17-game regular season was officially adopted in 2021. While a 17-game schedule and a synchronized international slate are not mutually exclusive on paper, analysts point out that jamming all 16 overseas matchups into a single week presents massive logistical hurdles. Such a compressed window could heavily restrict host cities, limiting major hubs like London to just two annual games split between Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium.
Rodgers Maps Out Future Expansion and Team Mandates
Even as he plays through what he insists is his final NFL season, Rodgers remains an unrepentant evangelist for the league’s global footprint. He envisions a sprawling map for future growth that extends far beyond traditional European stops.
- North American markets such as Canada and Mexico
- Established international sites including Brazil, where earlier games have already been contested
- Emerging opportunities across South America
- European mainstays like Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, and England
- Exotic venues in the Middle East, specifically highlighting Dubai for its growing sports infrastructure
However, the veteran quarterback argues that franchise ownership needs to invest more heavily in the experience rather than cutting corners. He voiced frustration that the league declined to impose travel mandates that would require teams to arrive early and immerse themselves in the local communities.
I wish there was a mandate, though, from the league [that] they would have to open up their pocketbooks too, and they’re maybe a little tight on money and stuff. I think they should mandate every team coming over Sunday or Monday to really enjoy the culture and the place you’re going. You could do events in those cities and outreach stuff and community work.
While a simultaneous 16-game international week appears unlikely to materialize, observers note that a full calendar of 16 individual international games across a season remains an inevitable fixture for future collective bargaining talks.