NFL Kicks Off New Global Partnerships

American Express cardholders are accustomed to being at the front of the line, and the brand's new deal with the National Football League brings football fans a bevy of new privileges.

After dispatching a thirty-year partnership with rival Visa, Amex has joined the NFL with a high-scoring playbook. Football fans have been thrilled by the Amex presale for all league-wide international games, providing quick access to tickets. Amex is highlighting its international presence as the Presenting Partner of the Steelers-Saints game in Paris on October 25th, as well as multiple plays throughout the season.

The 2026 slate of international games is a record nine for the NFL across seven countries and four continents. The first of which happens on September 10th in Melbourne (Rams vs 49ers), causing the league to move their traditional Thursday night season opener to Wednesday, September 9th, to ensure a domestic start to the season.

With this large slate comes a plethora of new partners.

Brazil, hosting its third game but first in Rio de Janeiro, is an incredibly active market with twenty-two partners. Amex is one of the new partners as part of their global season-long deal, and Heinz is also in the market for the first time as a partner. Ram Trucks and Jack Daniel's recently renewed their partnership, and XP Investments, the NFL's first-ever local Brazilian sponsor, has held presenting rights for Brazil games since September 2023 and will activate on-site alongside 15 other brands.

Qantas leads the way for the Melbourne partner cohort, working to capitalize on rising American tourism to Australia, according to group brand chief Danielle Keighery. The airline will bring both teams to the game and will also market its accessibility through 40 weekly US-Australia & New Zealand flights. Other partners including The Sporting Globe Bar & Grill, Westfield, Y Series (wine), Visit California, Hellmann's (Unilever), and La Trobe Financial round out the local partner roster.

I have industry friends in the UK who believe that someday London will host a Super Bowl. That would take some doing, but the city continues to successfully host multiple league games, this year at both Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley. NetApp is the presenting sponsor of all three games and was named the league's global "Official Intelligent Data Infrastructure Partner" in 2025, a robust data storage/cybersecurity deal built on NetApp's ONTAP ransomware protection and Cybervault tech rather than a traditional ad buy. NetApp will also be the presenting sponsor of the Madrid game alongside regional partners Comunidad de Madrid, City of Madrid, and Real Madrid C.F.

In Mexico City, Toyota has a new three-season deal running through 2028, extending Toyota's existing US NFL sponsorship into the Mexican market. Activations planned across dealerships, digital content and the Mexico City game itself; framed by Toyota execs around shared "performance and passion" branding. Aeroméxico, NFL Mexico's first-ever official airline sponsor, also holds a three-season deal which makes solid sense given the airline flies direct to cities hosting 21 of the NFL's 32 teams.

As global fandom for the NFL continues to surge, accelerated by these special global games, the league is also educating local partners on the power of the shield as a brand accelerator.