A return to the land of bier, brats, kraut and dirndls for topless Vita Vea?
The NFL is efforting to release the 2026 schedule sometime in the next two weeks.
What’s the hangup? Per Mike North (not that Mike North), the NFL’s suit in charge of broadcasting and scheduling, the NFL has a five-game package it has yet to see to a network/streamer. Once that deal is finalized, the schedule can be finalized.
The Bucs have two road opponents on the 2026 schedule that are playing overseas: the Dixie Chicks in Madrid and the Lions in Munich.
The NFL has yet to release who the Dixie Chicks and Lions will host in Europe.
Joe was poking around at the owners meetings in Arizona back in March, trying to find out if the Bucs would have to have their passports updated to play in Germany or Spain. Joe was told by someone with knowledge of the situation the Bucs playing an international game this fall couldn’t be ruled out.
So Bucs fans who may want to travel, or Bucs fans who want to punch a hole in the wall over the Bucs flying across the Atlantic Ocean to play, brace yourselves.
In fact, John Breech of CBS, in trying to predict the matchups of all the international games this fall, thinks it’s a 50/50 shot the Bucs will be packing their bags for Europe.
Munich to be exact.
Lions in Munich
Possible opponents: Bears, Packers, Vikings, Saints, Buccaneers, Giants, Patriots, Jets, Titans
Prediction: Giants or Buccaneers
There’s a report that the Giants will play an international game this year, and this one would certainly make the most sense. The Giants hold marketing rights in Germany, so they would likely be on board if the NFL decides to send them to Munich. This one isn’t a lock, but it would be a mild surprise if the Giants aren’t the opponent.
The argument against the Giants is that they played in Germany in 2024, so the NFL might be interested in sending another team. If that’s the case, then the Buccaneers could make sense. Tampa Bay played in the NFL’s inaugural Germany game in 2022, but hasn’t been back since.
Breech hit the two key points for the Bucs returning to Munich. The Bucs have marketing rights in Germany and they haven’t had an international game since they were first in Munich in 2022 when the Bucs beat the Seahawks.
The NFL likes to rotate teams playing on foreign soil at least once every four years.
Joe gets why fans don’t like these games. The good thing here is that if the Bucs are in Germany or Spain this fall, it’s a road game. So Bucs fans aren’t getting jobbed of a home game.
All Joe can say is, he went to Munich for the Seahawks-Bucs game in 2022. It was Joe’s first time in Europe. He didn’t know what to expect.
It was an absolute blast! It was truly one of the highlights of Joe’s life. It was that great of an experience. And there’s little, if any, language barrier. The Germans speak better English than many Americans. (Taking multiple years of English in schools in Germany is a requirement, sometimes all the way into college.)
If you are a World War II history nut like Joe is, Munich is right in the middle of it. So much to see there. And the bier, wow!
Joe has a hunch — no one has told him the following — but Joe is just going to guess the NFL will announce who will play the Dixie Chicks and the Lions overseas before the full schedule is released.
Whenever that is.