NFL opener in Brazil featuring Philadelphia Eagles to air on Peacock

The NFL announced the season’s opening game in Brazil featuring the Philadelphia Eagles will air on Peacock.

“The Eagles’ season-opener in Brazil will air on Peacock, NFL’s Hans Schroeder announced,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote on Twitter. “Schroeder also announced Amazon will have a Wild Card playoff game this year and moving forward.”

The Eagles’ opponent in Brazil is still to be determined, but Browns defensive tackle Maurice Hurst said he expects Cleveland to be the opponent.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the game in Brazil, a first for the league, back in December.

“Bringing the NFL to new continents, countries and cities around the world is a critical element of our plan to continue to grow the game globally,” Goodell said when the game was announced in December. “Brazil has established itself as a key market for the NFL, and we are excited to be playing in Brazil and São Paulo for the first time in 2024. We look forward to working with the city of São Paulo, SP Turis and Corinthians Arena to deliver a world-class game day experience for this passionate and growing fan base.”

The NFL reported that Brazil is the second-largest international fan base behind Mexico with more than 38 million fans. The Eagles are coming off of an 11-6 season and lost in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. It’s unclear at this point who their opponent will be.

“We think this is giving us an ability to access more fans not just here in the states, but on a global basis,” Goodell. “I think it’s gonna be a huge hit. We’re excited.”

NFL adds Brazil, new Christmas schedule for 2024

The NFL is set to play on Christmas Day for the 2024 season, despite the holiday falling in the middle of the week. According to Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal, the league will have games on Christmas, which is a reversal from its previous stance since it falls on Wednesday. 

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports confirmed Beaton’s report.

Two games will be played on Christmas, according to Albert Breer of The Monday Morning Quarterback. The four teams that are playing in the games on Wednesday will also be part of a doubleheader the previous Saturday.

According to Front Office Sports, the Christmas Day NFL games in 2023 was a huge success. The matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders drew an audience of 29.2 million viewers, the most-watched Christmas Day game in 34 years. The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers game that aired on Christmas night drew 27.1 million viewers, making it the second-most watched Monday Night Football game in 27 years.

Brian Jones contributed to this report.