Seahawks down under?! Australia eying NFL regular season game in 2025

The NFL’s international expansion could include a trip to Australia in the near future.

The NFL is making a concerted effort to expand its regular season presence to new countries. This year will mark the league’s debut appearance in Brazil, where the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers will meet in Week 1, and Spain is set to host a regular season game in 2025.

Of the countries on the list for consideration for future regular season games is Australia, home to Seattle Seahawks star punter Michael Dickson.

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Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s head of international affairs, said Tuesday at the league’s spring meetings that Australia is among the markets being discussed. The league recently announced an NFL Academy will open in September on the Gold Coast in Australia.

“Australia is among a set, and it’s not a small set of markets, that we’re looking at,” O’Reilly said.

O’Reilly noted Australia has a strong NFL fan base, media partners and that both the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams have global market rights there.

A local Australian report says that there are discussions for the Melbourne Cricket Ground to host a game next year.

9News can reveal the Melbourne Cricket Club is exploring the possibility of hosting a game in the 2025/26 season.

While discussions are in their early stages, it’s understood the LA Rams have been slated as the ‘home’ franchise for what would be an historic occasion in Australia’s sports capital.

If the Rams get the nod to be the “home team” in Australia then obviously the Seahawks would be a possible candidate to be their opponent. The NFL has held several divisional games outside of the United States, most recently the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City in 2022. It wouldn’t be highly likely given the Seahawks are one of the last teams yet to sacrifice a home game to play abroad, but it’s not impossible.

The time zone difference would naturally be an issue given Melbourne is anywhere from 17-19 hours ahead of the Pacific Time Zone. A midday or early afternoon kickoff in Melbourne could theoretically happen late evening along the American West Coast. We’re still a good ways from figuring out if this will even transpire.