NFL Sunday Live From … Saudi Arabia?

Last week, the Saudi General Entertainment Authority Chair Turki Alalshikh said during the Joy Forum conference in Riyadh that he wanted to bring the NFL to Saudi Arabia, “Britain got it; Brazil got it. Hopefully, Saudi Arabia will be next.”[i]

Concerns over Saudi Arabia’s history of “sportswashing”, a term used to describe when a government sponsors or hosts sporting events to promote a positive public image to distract from human rights issues, have been reignited as Saudi Arabia attempts to bring predominantly American sports like football and basketball to the Kingdom.[ii] According to Amnesty International, a global human rights organization, Saudi Arabia has violated its citizens’ human rights by discriminating against women and girls by codifying the male guardianship system in 2022, conducting unfair trials and torturing prisoners, treating migrant workers poorly, cracking down on free speech and the press, forcibly evicting residents to make way for luxury developments, and not recognizing LGBTQI+ rights, among many other things.[iii]

Hosting an NFL game in Saudi Arabia will no doubt leave a sour taste in many fans’ mouths, as the idea of a Saudi Arabia game seems like another cash grab for a league that had over $23 billion in revenue last year.[iv] Safety when travelling to the game is also a concern, especially for fans who are members of the LGBTQI+ community. The legal framework in the country – which is based on Sharia (Islamic law) – remains uncompromising in that same-sex sexual activity is illegal, and anything perceived to condone homosexuality or support for LGBTQ rights can result in prosecution. This extends to social media posts as well. While enforcement against tourists is not common, the UK government has issued warnings to same-sex couples, telling them to “avoid showing affection in public” while in the Kingdom, and the U.S. government warns travelers about posting anything on social media showing support for LGBTQI+ rights before travelling to the Kingdom.[v]

In a recent interview, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell seemed bullish on international games, saying that the league has “our eyes set” on having 16 games internationally every year (essentially one international game per week with the exception of one week). Currently international games have targeted markets in Latin America and western Europe, but Goodell stated that to make the NFL a global sport “we’re going to have to get to Asia.”[vi]  Under the NFL’s Global Markets Program, launched in 2022, teams are awarded exclusive international marketing rights for specific countries. This program helps teams and the NFL “build brand awareness and fandom beyond the U.S.”[vii] Currently there are six countries in Asia and Oceania that NFL teams have rights to: Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. Since the NFL and its clubs have already poured money into marketing their brands in these countries, if there was an international game in Asia, it would most likely be in one of these countries before Saudi Arabia.

However, that is not to say that Saudi Arabia cannot make its presence known in other ways, as the Kingdom has a lot of money that it could pour into sponsorship agreements or partnerships with NFL licensees. According to Play the Game, a publicly funded sports ethics institute based out of Denmark, the Kingdom has more than 900 sponsorship deals across various sports, with more than a third of these deals traced to the Public Investment Fund (“PIF”).[viii] In fact, Saudi money has already creeped into American sports, with the PIF’s investment in EA Sports, the makers of the Madden and College Football video games, and Fanatics. Fanatics will actually be hosting a star-studded flag football game in Saudi Arabia in March 2026, featuring the likes of Tom Brady, Christian McCaffrey, and CeeDee Lamb.[ix] Therefore, while an NFL game in the Kingdom may be years away, there could be other ways that Saudi money creeps into America’s favorite sport.

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[i] https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/10/19/saudi-arabia-interested-in-hosting-nfl-game/

[ii] https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/43741075/pif-backing-proposed-5-billion-basketball-league; https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/business/nfl-football-saudi-arabia.html

[iii] https://www.amnesty.org.uk/saudi-arabia-human-rights-raif-badawi-king-salman

[iv] https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/04/10/sources-nfl-revenue-passes-23-billion-in-latest-fiscal-year/

[v] https://www.outofoffice.com/blog/law-vs-reality-gay-travel-in-saudi-arabia/#:~:text=Despite%20tourism%20outreach%2C%20the%20legal,flogging%2C%20and%20deportation%20for%20foreigners.

[vi] https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/09/28/goodell-nfl-expects-to-be-global-sport-in-the-near-future/

[vii] https://www.nfl.com/international/global-markets-program

[viii] https://www.forbes.com/sites/samindrakunti/2024/12/03/saudi-arabias-sports-influence-detailed-in-new-report/

[ix] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/business/nfl-football-saudi-arabia.html

Photo Credit: @NFL