Saudi Arabia eyes an NFL game.
The government of Saudi Arabia wants to host a National Football League game. Saudi Arabia has a lot of money and in the NFL’s world, cash on the barrelhead is far better than cheap talk. Saudi Arabia is not part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program but there will be a Tom Brady-led flag football event in the country in March, 2026. Saudi Arabia is behind the LIV golf tour and recently hosted a sports-entertainment wrestling event. Saudi Arabia has also invested in tennis. But Saudi Arabia could be a problem for the National Football League because of its human rights record. In the United States’ State Department’s most recent annual report on human rights practices for Saudi Arabia, it lists what it calls credible reports of various human rights violations, including “arbitrary or unlawful killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons.”
The National Football League has had to defend itself over its selection of an American citizen from Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny, as its lead performer at the 2026 Super Bowl. The league might not have the appetite right now to investigate the pros and cons of putting a game in Saudi Arabia. Still the league is forging ahead with its international expansion plans and bringing the product to areas where the local population might want to go to a game and then buy hats and T-shirts with NFL logos. The NFL had seven games outside of the United States in 2025 and there is global interest by promoters to get a game. The league has a stronghold in London, England and is committed to Brazil promising three games in the country between 2026 and 2030. There is money to be made outside of the U. S.
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On March 21, Tom Brady will be part of a flag-football tournament in Saudi Arabia
