The new NFL season is almost here with the defending champions, Kansas City Chiefs, looking to make history by winning their third consecutive Super Bowl. The season gets started on the 5th of September, 2024 with the regular action set to end four months later at the start of January 2025. We then have the play-offs and the Super Bowl itself with the big game scheduled for the 9th of February at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
There is a lot of action to be played before we’ll know which two teams will be battling it out in the Big Easy and, as is now normal, that includes games taking place in the UK. Many moons ago we watched the London Monarchs battle the Barcelona Dragons at Wembley in the now-defunct World League of American Football. Thankfully, fans have it a little better these days, and they can watch the very best in the business do battle without having to fly over the Atlantic.
The NFL International Series
The NFL International Series now sees regular season clashes take place in London, Germany, and Brazil, with matches pencilled in for Madrid too. London began hosting NFL games in 2007, with Wembley used for matches between 2007 and 2015. Since then Twickenham has welcomed the razzamatazz of the sport, with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium also now a regular venue for this exciting roadshow.
When & Where
In 2024, there will be three games taking place in the capital. These will be held on three consecutive Sundays in October, and give fans an exciting chance to see the game’s true stars up close and personal. You don’t even have to wait up until three in the morning!
Tickets
Sadly, tickets for these games sold out some time ago, so if you want to get to one of the games you are now looking at paying around £200 per ticket on a resale site. There is an official face-value resale site, as well as third-party vendors who only allow resale at or below the original cost but you would have to get lucky to land one of those.
Your best bet might be to sign up to the mailing list for 2025, but there are also free events that take place around the London games that allow you to soak up some of that unique US atmosphere. Alternatively, even just watching one of the clashes in a pub near the ground with other fans is sure to be great fun.
New York Jets v Minnesota Vikings, 6th October, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
The first game of this season’s London tour takes place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This has been the ground of Premier League giants Spurs since 2019 and holds in excess of 62,000 fans. The record attendance for an NFL game here came in 2023, when 61,273 supporters saw Jacksonville face the Buffalo Bills. It is an ultra-modern facility and is widely regarded as one of the best stadiums in the world. It is the third-largest football stadium in England, and the biggest club ground in the capital.
This year’s first game to be held here will get underway at 2.30 pm UK time, with all three London games kicking off at that same time this year. Neither team is particularly well-fancied in terms of their chances of winning the Super Bowl this season, with the Jets 22/1 and the Vikings considered among the real outsiders at 100/1. The former are in the AFC East, and will start the clash as favourites against Minnesota, who are in the NFC North.
Jacksonville Jaguars v Chicago Bears, 13th October, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Jacksonville, regulars in London, play in the second game to be held at Spurs’ home in 2024, with the Chicago Bears as their opponents. As said, this clash will also begin at 2.30 pm local time, and again, neither side taking part are among the favourites for glory when it comes to Super Bowl LIX.
The Bears are available at 35/1 to go all the way, with the Jaguars a little longer at 50/1. The Bears are in the NFC North, alongside Minnesota, with Jacksonville in the AFC South. This could well be a close game and depending on how both teams begin the season, we would expect the NFC outfit to head into the clash as slight favourites.
New England Patriots v Jacksonville Jaguars, 20th October, Wembley Stadium
Jacksonville stick around another week to contest a second game in the capital and this time they will get to run out at Wembley. As well as hosting huge concerts such as Oasis and, previously Live Aid, as well as huge boxing contests, Wembley is the national stadium of the England football team. Playing here will be a huge honour for the stars of the NFL, particularly any who are fans of football or, if we must, “soccer”.
From a commercial perspective, Wembley also has the advantage of holding substantially more fans than the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It has a capacity of 90,000 for football – proper football – and slightly less, 86,000, for the US version of the game. That said, 86,215 NFL fans watched Denver and Jacksonville battle it out back in October 2022. Returning to this clash, the Pats are far from the force they were earlier in the century and, along with the Carolina Panthers, are deemed the franchise least likely to lift the Super Bowl trophy at the end of this season.
Why Do Jacksonville Play Twice?
The more observant readers out there will have not only noticed that Jacksonville will play two games in London in 2024, but they also played in the English capital in 2023 and 2022. In fact, the Jaguars have played in London far more times than any other NFL side, with the two 2024 meetings set to be their 10th and 11th games.
Shahid Khan
They have effectively become the “home team” for London, although the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets have played five and four, respectively (with the Jets set to play a fifth in 2024). The Jaguars are owned by Shahid Khan, who also owns Fulham and has been linked with buying Wembley in the past. Whilst there are no real plans to move the team to London, it certainly can’t be ruled out in the future.
Tourism Links
In addition, England has close travel and tourism links to Florida, with Jacksonville a short drive (by US standards) north of Orlando. It is no coincidence that the Dolphins have been frequent visitors to these shores too, with the NFL and owners seeking to expand the fanbases of both franchises.