NFL's games in Brazil and Europe are key components to further revenue expansion, according to Goodell.

On Friday evening, the NFL is holding its inaugural matchup in South America as part of their push to expand their overseas footprint. Professional football has never been stronger financially since entering this part of the globe and entering South American waters for the first time! Last season, the league generated $13 billion in revenues and each team is estimated at an estimated value of about 6.5 billion according to CNBC’s Official NFL Team Valuations tool. International markets remain key as it attempts to sustain growth; ahead of its inaugural game in Sao Paulo Brazil on Friday NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC’s Squawk Box show his league intends on becoming an internationally recognizable brand. This season, the NFL will hold five international games across Europe and South America; by next season it plans on holding eight. “Bringing our regular-season brand here creates an entirely different environment,” according to Goodell. Goodell noted how traveling has provided his league an invaluable opportunity to observe players as they adjust to long flights and multiple time zones. Playing overseas games has proven both challenging and informative – the latter due to Goodell learning how players handle long flights as well as different time zones. “[When the players] return home tomorrow, they will all be on similar time zones and eight days until their next matchup,” Goodell noted. Brazil lies one hour ahead of Eastern time zone but requires 11-hour travel time for arrival. Goodell concluded “All this serves to see how many games we can fit into a season and improve upon that process going forward. ” As the NFL plays games overseas in London, Germany and Brazil it not only brings in new fans but also boosts sponsorship opportunities while strengthening international media partnerships. Prior to hosting games there in 2022 the league already held two sponsorship deals there.” Today, the NFL boasts 15 agreements. Furthermore, teams have access to its Global Markets Program that gives marketing rights in other countries for creating brand recognition and fanship abroad. This year marks its third edition. Some games will stream exclusively, such as Friday’s match-up between Brazil and England that will air exclusively on NBC Peacock platform. “Ultimately, our fans are moving onto streaming platforms,” Goodell noted. However, 8 out of every 10 NFL games remain broadcast television available for viewers to view and enjoy. Our policies we believe to be greatly advantageous for growth as more viewers enjoy watching NFL football,” according to Goodell. Disclosure: NBCUniversal owns CNBC.