Published October 23, 2026 10:19 AM
The NFL’s international experiment began in 2007, the year before Aaron Rodgers became an NFL starting quarterback. He didn’t play internationally until 2022. This year will be his fourth game in a third different country other than the U.S.
After arriving in France for Sunday’s game against the Saints, Rodgers made it clear that he’s not a fan of the travel plans used by the Packers when playing in London in 2022, the Jets when playing in London in 2024, the Steelers when playing in Ireland in 2024, and the Vikings when playing in Paris in two days (unless the game is moved to London).
“I’ve played in three countries now,” Rodgers told reporters on Friday. “In each of them, we’ve left on Thursday early evening. It would have been nice one time to come over on a Monday.”
Teams ultimately make their travel plans for international games based not on the conveniences or preferences of the players but based on the perceived best interests of the organization. The goal is to get a win while also preserving the ability to get more wins after coming home.
Sometimes, the plan of showing up late works. Sometimes (as the Rams learned in the Week 1 Australia game), it doesn’t.
For Rodgers, his four foreign games have happened with teams that have decided to go late. And that’s just the way it goes.