The NFL is taking its show to one of the most iconic stadiums on earth — and it’s bringing two of its marquee franchises along for the ride.
The Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens are set to face off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season on September 27, 2026 — marking the league’s third regular-season game on Brazilian soil and, perhaps more strikingly, the first NFL game ever played at the legendary Maracanã Stadium. The Cowboys will serve as the designated home team for the matchup, continuing the league’s aggressive push to grow its global footprint in one of the world’s most passionate sports markets.
A Historic Venue for a Historic Moment
Maracanã isn’t just a stadium. It’s a cathedral. The Rio de Janeiro venue has hosted FIFA World Cup finals, Copa América championships, and the 2016 Olympics — and now, apparently, Dak Prescott and Derrick Henry. The NFL confirmed earlier in 2026 that the Cowboys would host a regular-season game in Brazil, with the Ravens later named as the opponent. It’s a pairing that should draw serious eyeballs on both sides of the equator.
The Ravens, for their part, aren’t exactly a soft draw. Baltimore has been one of the AFC’s most formidable teams in recent memory, and a matchup against Dallas — a franchise that’s arguably the NFL’s most globally recognized brand — gives the league exactly the kind of marquee billing it needs to sell a transatlantic road trip to casual fans and die-hards alike.
Third Time in Brazil, First Time at Maracanã
This won’t be the NFL’s first trip to Brazil. The league has already staged two previous games in the country, building on the momentum of its broader international series that has long called London and Frankfurt home. But Maracanã represents a step up in ambition — a venue so synonymous with sporting spectacle that its very name carries weight. The stadium’s capacity dwarfs many NFL venues, and the atmosphere, if Brazilian soccer crowds are any indication, could be unlike anything players have experienced.
Still, logistical questions loom. Playing a Week 3 game abroad means both teams are managing travel, acclimation, and preparation during a stretch of the season when rosters are still finding their footing. It’s a challenge the league has navigated before in Europe, but Brazil adds distance and time-zone complexity that even seasoned international travelers don’t take lightly.
Fans Already Making Plans
Want to be there? It’ll cost you. Travel packages for the game are already available, with pricing starting at $500 USD per person for various occupancy options — single, double, triple, or quad. That’s a base figure, of course, and doesn’t account for flights, which from most U.S. cities to Rio won’t come cheap. But for the kind of fan who crosses oceans for their team, the price of admission to a piece of NFL history has never really been the point.
The Cowboys, for their part, have leaned into the announcement with characteristic fanfare. Dallas has never been a franchise that shies away from a big stage — and few stages on this planet are bigger than Maracanã on a Sunday afternoon with 70,000 people inside it.
The Bigger Picture
Zoom out, and this game is about more than two teams and one Sunday in September. The NFL’s international strategy has been one of the most deliberate expansions in modern sports business — methodical, market-tested, and increasingly lucrative. Brazil, with its enormous population and deep appetite for sports spectacle, has been on the league’s radar for years. Locking in a fixture at Maracanã signals that the NFL isn’t just visiting Brazil anymore. It’s planting a flag.
Whether the sport takes root there the way it has in the UK remains to be seen. But on September 27, 2026, when the Cowboys and Ravens run out of that tunnel in Rio, the answer will start becoming a lot clearer.
