• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

In attempts to build a global fan base, the National Football League (NFL) is bringing professional teams to international stadiums throughout the 2025 season.

For the first time, YouTube -- the league’s official home of NFL Sunday Ticket – will be broadcasting a full game for free in the app.

The Google-owned company has gained exclusive rights to stream the Friday night Week 1 game of the 2025 NFL season in São Paulo, Brazil on September 5th to a worldwide audience on YouTube and YouTube TV for free. 

“This marks the first exclusive NFL game to be streamed live and for free in its entirety on YouTube,” the NFL notes, adding that last season people spent over 350 million hours watching official NFL content on the video-sharing platform. 

According to YouTube’s Chief Business Officer Mary Ellen Coe, the live-stream will feature “an interactive viewing experience” that places “creators right at the center of the experience.”

In Brazil, the Lost Angeles Chargers will face a soon-to-be-announced team, kicking off the NFL’s string of international games, which will include face-offs in Ireland, the U.K., Germany, and Spain.  

Google has been spending about $2 billion a year for exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket rights since the 2023 season, but the tech giant has been partners with the NFL since 2015, when the league launched its YouTube channel, which has amassed over 14 million subscribers over the past decade. 

The partnership includes official NFL clips, highlights, game-day compilations, exclusive original series and creator-made content. 

The NFL says that it will also be expanding its deal with YouTube regarding its annual “Super Bowl Flag Football” game. The most recent flag football game, at Super Bowl LIX, drew over six million live views on the app, featuring creators and musical artists.