The Chicago Bears will not play in Germany in the 2023 season.
The NFL announced its five-game international slate Wednesday morning, and the Bears were not in the lineup.
Rumors and news this spring suggested the NFL was considering sending the Bears to play the Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany. But NBC Sports’ Peter King reported this week on the Chiefs asked the Bears not to be their international opponent.
The Chiefs will play the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt on November 5th.
And later this year, the Chiefs will host the Bears at Arrowhead Stadium. The date and time of that game will be announced Thursday when the NFL’s full schedule is released.
The Bears’ 2023 opponents are already set. At home they will play the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals. The Bears will hit the road to play the Lions, Packers, Vikings, Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders and Cleveland Browns.
As for the other international games, the Indianapolis Colts will play the New England Patriots on November 12 in Frankfurt.
In London, the Buffalo Bills will play the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 8th and the Tennessee Titans will play the Baltimore Ravens on October 15th. Both matches will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Jaguars have two international games this year, also playing the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium on October 1.
The NFL had its first regular-season game in Germany in November 2022. The league announced last week that 8.2 million people globally watched the game, a 21-16 Buccaneers victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Allianz Arena. The NFL said the game also had an economic impact of €70.2 million for Munich.
The NFL has been holding games in London since 2007, but Germany has become the largest NFL market in Europe.
“The confirmed games in Germany will create two very exciting matches for fans in November and we are delighted to play both games in Frankfurt, a city rich in NFL history and with a significant number of NFL fans,” Dr. Alexander Steinforth, CEO of NFL Germany said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Bears last played an international in London against him then Oakland Raiders in 2019.
The Associated Press contributed.
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