The NFL confirmed Thursday that Estádio do Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro will host Sunday's Cowboys-Ravens kickoff, closing a venue question that had lingered since the league announced the matchup eight months ago. The field passed final inspection. Gates open at noon local time. The game represents the league's first Brazil appearance and carries an estimated $50 million in sponsorship, broadcast, and ticketing revenue across the weekend.
The stadium, home to Flamengo's soccer operations, required $12 million in temporary infrastructure—expanded press boxes, broadcast cabling for Fox's 22-camera setup, and reinforced locker facilities that meet NFL equipment standards. The field itself was re-sodded in April using Kentucky bluegrass shipped from the league's Indianapolis testing facility. NFL field director Ed Mangan spent six days on-site in August running drainage and firmness tests. His final report, delivered Tuesday, cleared the venue without contingency language.
The clearance matters because the Rio game is a proof case for São Paulo. The league has held early talks with Allianz Parque and Neo Química Arena about hosting a 2025 or 2026 regular-season game, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Brazil represents the NFL's second-largest international social media audience after Mexico—38 million Instagram followers, double the UK's total. Sunday's gate will inform whether the league can command stadium naming rights fees in the $8 million to $12 million annual range that it extracts from London and Munich hosts.
The Cowboys' involvement is structural, not incidental. Dallas has played in seven of the league's last twelve international games, a frequency explained by sponsorship pull and broadcast ratings. The team's merchandise sales in Latin America trail only the Patriots and Chiefs. Jerry Jones negotiated a side deal with the league office that guarantees the Cowboys a percentage of Brazil game sponsorship revenue in exchange for surrendering a home gate, a structure the league has not disclosed but that two rival executives estimated in the low seven figures. That arrangement will shape which teams the league deploys to future Brazil games—sponsorship yield now competes with competitive balance as a selection variable.
The timing also syncs with the Cowboys' Thursday announcement of an extended naming rights deal with AT&T, which keeps the telecom's branding on the Arlington stadium through at least 2031. AT&T is the league's official 5G partner in Brazil and will activate in Rio through in-stadium connectivity and a fan experience tent outside the venue. The deal's Brazil activation component was negotiated separately and runs through the 2026 season, according to a term sheet reviewed by two sponsors. AT&T's willingness to extend the Cowboys' stadium deal and the Brazil partnership in the same week signals confidence that the NFL's international calendar will continue to include marquee Dallas fixtures.
Watch for the league to announce a second Brazil game for the 2025 season by December, likely in São Paulo. The Rio test also sets a template for field preparation timelines—if Flamengo's soccer schedule required $12 million in temporary work, São Paulo venues with tighter fixture calendars may require double that, a cost the league will seek to pass through to host cities or sponsors. Separately, the NFL's Brazil broadcast deal with ESPN runs through 2025; renewal talks are expected to begin in January, and Sunday's viewership number will anchor the negotiation.
The Cowboys play at home the following Sunday against the Saints, a six-day turnaround that required the team to charter a separate equipment flight on Tuesday. The Ravens return to Baltimore with an extra day. Both teams waived their usual travel per diems in exchange for the league covering all Brazil logistics, a structure that saves each club roughly $400,000 but sets a precedent rival teams are already citing in their own international game negotiations.
The takeaway
NFL's first Brazil game clears venue check, unlocking São Paulo expansion talks and setting **$12M** infrastructure template for future hosts.
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