The Las Vegas Raiders have always boasted the most exciting and iconic fan base in all of professional football. Whether it is the diehard members of The Black Hole, the rowdy tailgaters in Oakland and Las Vegas, or the team's slew of ultra-famous celebrity fans, there is no nation quite like Raider Nation.
As the NFL continues to expand and try to reach fans globally, historic franchises like the Raiders are going to be pushed to the forefront.
On Monday, the league announced an update to its Global Markets Program, and to nobody's surprise, Las Vegas is gaining rights to new international markets.
NFL Global Markets Program grants Raiders rights to new regions
The NFL expanded the Global Markets Program on Monday and granted the Las Vegas Raiders rights to both Australia and New Zealand. The team also has rights to the country of Mexico, which was granted to them when the program launched in 2022.
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Not only were the Raiders given rights to this region, but so were the Seattle Seahawks. NFL Australia & New Zealand General Manager Charlotte Offord spoke about the acquisition on Monday.
"We're thrilled to have two additional teams as part of the Global Markets Program across both Australia and New Zealand," said Offord, according to Raiders.com. "The Raiders and the Seahawks are two incredible franchises that already have established fanbases in-market. With over eight million NFL fans across the region, we look forward to working with these clubs to create more experiences for fans locally."
The NFL has already announced that they will play a regular-season game in Melbourne, Australia, in 2026, which will be the first NFL game in Oceania.
The Los Angeles Rams have been designated as the team that will play in that game, and the Raiders are set to face them in 2026. This means that the Silver and Black could be headed to the "land down under" for a regular-season game in under two years.
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