SÃO PAULO, Brazil — The Green Bay Packers, not the Cleveland Browns, will travel to Brazil for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season.
The rumors of the Browns heading abroad began to swirl on Feb. 19, when NBC Sports' Peter King wrote that he was "feeling good" about the team taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil on Friday, Sept. 6.
In addition to those rumors, defensive tackle Maurice Hurst suggested during an appearance on Cleveland Browns Daily that the team would be playing in Brazil.
However, Hurst quickly retracted those statements in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), saying that he had "zero confirmation."
The Browns' only international regular season game to date came in October 2017 when the team lost to the Minnesota Vikings in London.
The Week 1 contest will be played at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a seating capacity of nearly 50,000. Additionally, the Friday night game will mark the first-ever NFL regular-season game to be played in South America.
“As global growth continues to be a critical and strategic priority for the NFL and its 32 clubs, we are thrilled to have the Green Bay Packers playing against the Philadelphia Eagles in our first-ever game in South America," said Managing Director and Head of NFL International Gerrit Meier. “With over 35 million passionate fans in Brazil, the Friday night 2024 regular season opener in São Paulo will bring an incredible energy – marking a historic moment for our sport internationally."
During the 2023 December League Meeting in Dallas, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that Brazil would host in Week 1 as part of the league's plan to "emphasize global growth as a major strategic priority."
"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," said Goodell. "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."
In addition, the NFL will have three games taking place in London, England, with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears all traveling across the pond. Additionally, the Carolina Panthers will travel to Munich, Germany.
