In 2025, the NFL will once again send teams abroad, just as it did in 2023 and 2024. The league uses this strategy to expand globally. However, not every player agrees with it, and one of them is Lamar Jackson.
This year, the league will schedule seven games in five countries outside the United States. Some of them are new markets, like the United Arab Emirates and Greece. But these games also bring risks, since not all players can easily adapt to such changes.
According to The Sports Rush, Jackson has his own criteria for playing abroad. His reasons go beyond differences in territory, culture, or playing fields.
A conditional yes from Lamar Jackson
On Sundae Conversations with Caleb Pressley, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback explained his perspective on the NFL’s international expansion. He said: “I mean, it’s cool, you know, just putting names out there in different countries, or other people who are fans of the game can see us play.” But he made it clear that he does not want this to happen everywhere.
Jackson stated that he won’t play in countries at war: “I don’t want to go anywhere there are wars… Yeah, I’d rather stay in the U.S. and let them, you know, resolve everything.”
Playing in a country with such instability would represent a major risk, so Jackson prefers staying in the U.S., where he feels comfortable. In fact, in his eight-year career, he has only played once outside the country: in London, in 2023, when the Ravens defeated the Tennessee Titans 24-16.
The good news for Jackson is that the Ravens don’t have an international game scheduled this year. Still, things could change since the NFL granted the franchise international marketing rights in the UK under its Global Markets Program. As long as the games take place in a nation without war, Jackson said he would be willing to play.
