They have to install playing surfaces that meet exacting standards. They have to change the names of the facilities. They have to shut down all other business (such as major concerts) for the duration of the World Cup.
Given the hoops through which the 11 NFL stadiums will have to jump in order to placate FIFA, it’s fair to ask whether it’s worth it.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe recently took a look at that question. Said an NFL official from a team that won’t be hosting any of the World Cup games, “I know more than a few teams weren’t disappointed to lose the bid.”
That could be sour grapes, because those who won the right to host the matches are crowing about it.
“Can’t sleep,” Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones said recently, per Volin. “This is a great chance to associate with the worldwide love with soccer, and lets us put a little notch on our belt and share it with what soccer’s about, too. They’ll never be able to take away that we held those games in that stadium.”
Cowboys executive Stephen Jones echoed the sentiment: “We’ll be shut down all summer. But it’s worth it. I mean, this is about brand and, you know, being a part of something special.”
The Joneses wanted to host the matches badly enough to give up their suite for the matches.
“I think I’ve got to go someplace else, but that was a part of it,” Jerry Jones said. “We did a lot of things to make this work.”
The Cowboys, Patriots, Falcons, Texans, Chargers/Rams, Giants/Jets, Chiefs, Seahawks, 49ers, Dolphins, and Eagles will be hosting World Cup games in their stadiums.
The total revenue is projected, per Volin, to be roughly $11 billion. FIFA will pay rent for the stadiums, while keeping the revenue from sponsorships, tickets, suites, merchandise, concessions, and parking.
So how much will the teams get for hosting the World Cup? Per Volin, the terms “have been kept under wraps.”
Given that folks like Jones are not known for doing bad deals, they’ll surely be making more money to host the World Cup matches than they would have made in a normal summer.
Still, it’s a headache. Extra work, extra expenses, extra hassles.
Not to mention the P.R. bruise that comes from the perception/reality that NFL owners who are giving FIFA the surfaces it demands while stubbornly refusing to do the same for pro football players.
The Rams signed second-round tight end Max Klare to his four-year rookie deal.
He is the third of the Rams’ five picks to sign, leaving only first-round quarterback Ty Simpson and seventh-round defensive tackle Tim Keenan III unsigned.
The Rams used the 61st overall pick on Klare, who played three seasons at Purdue before transferring to Ohio State.
He joins Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee and Terrance Ferguson in the tight ends room. The Rams used multiple tight ends on close to 40 percent of their plays last season.
Klare caught 51 passes for 685 yards with four touchdowns for the Boilermakers in 2024. He was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2025 for the Buckeyes, totaling 43 receptions for 448 yards and two touchdowns.
In his 32 collegiate games, he caught 116 passes for 1,329 yards with six touchdowns.
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua’s trip to rehab was his major offseason storyline and he discussed that decision during a press conference from the team’s OTAs on Thursday.
If the need for Nacua to seek help had not developed, the main story of his offseason almost certainly would have been his contract. Nacua is in the final year of his rookie deal and his play over the last three seasons put him in line for a deal that would be at the top of the list for players at the position.
On Wednesday, Nacua was asked if he’s comfortable playing out the year without agreeing to a contract extension with the NFC West club.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Nacua said. “I enjoy playing football. It’s the biggest dream come true. To be able to be out here and play for this organization specifically has been awesome. I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else. It’s been fun to be out here and be around these guys. Like I said, I’ll let all those things handle themselves.”
Seahawks wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba currently sits atop the receiver pay scale after signing an extension this offseason. Whether Nacua joins him with a new deal in the near future will likely hinge on how much the off-field issues of this offseason have impacted the Rams’ view of Nacua’s future with the team.
Matthew Stafford is 38 years old, and he knows there’s a reason the Rams drafted the 23-year-old quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round.
Stafford declined to go into detail when asked by reporters what coach Sean McVay said to him about the Rams’ decision to draft Simpson, but he said he was grateful that McVay wanted to talk to him about it, and he understands why the Rams felt like they needed a younger quarterback to build for the future.
“I’m not going to get into what our conversation was I appreciate him talking with me about those things. We have constant dialogue and a great relationship, so I appreciate that,” Stafford said of his discussions with McVay. “I understand where the team’s coming from. Listen, I’m not 25 years old and I get that. We’re doing everything we can to be as good a football team as we can for now, for the future, for all of it.”
Stafford said he wants to help Simpson prepare, but that it’s not unlike the way he’s helping the whole team get ready for the 2026 season.
“My job first and foremost is to get myself and our team ready to play as best as I possibly can. He’s a part of that team. We’re in a unique position in that we play the same position, I have a ton of experience and he’s just now starting his journey as an NFL player,” Stafford said. “He’s a guy that asks questions. I’ve been trying to answer those as honestly and as thoroughly as I possibly can.”
Stafford said the Rams’ whole roster is working to improve, and he’s supporting everyone.
“I’m happy to add good players to our team,” Stafford said. “He’s one of them. But my job is go out there and get myself and our team as ready to play as I possibly can.”
The 49ers ended up with not one but two international games in 2026 — one in Australia and one in Mexico. Even though the trip to Melbourne will be much longer than the trip to Mexico City, the Mexico trip will likely keep them away from home even longer than the season-opener down under.
“We haven’t finalized it yet, but we’d love to stay here and go there,” Shanahan said of the travel plans for the Week 11 game against the Vikings in Mexico City. “It’s a shorter flight, but that’s not really the issue. The main thing with Mexico City is it’s 2,000 [feet] higher than Denver. And so, we like to get adjusted to that altitude. So, we’ll probably go to Colorado Springs again like we did last time to get ready for that altitude and then probably go to Mexico City the night before.”
The 49ers play their Week 10 game at Dallas. Shanahan was asked whether the team would go straight to Colorado from Texas.
“We haven’t decided that yet, but most likely,” Shanahan said. “We’ll probably end up, the Mexico City trip will probably be a longer one than the Australia one, just because of that.”
The two international trips impose a significant burden on the 49ers. And it potentially creates a competitive disadvantage. Those issues, however, have taken a back seat to the league’s efforts to globalize the game.
The NFL wants to secure the ability to play 16 international games per year, with the idea of having every team make one international trip per season. That would be the fairest way to handle it. If every team has to leave the country once, the disadvantage levels out.
For now, with a maximum of 10 international games, it would be far more fair for no team to be expected to travel to another country for a game more than once per year. In the ultra-difficult NFC West, having the 49ers make two separate trips to play in another country won’t make it an easier to successfully compete with the Seahawks and the Rams.
