MUNICH, Germany — It's official. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take on the Seattle Seahawks for the NFL's first-ever regular-season game in Germany.
The NFL announced on Wednesday that the Bucs will kick off their Week 10 matchup at 3:30 p.m. Munich time, which is 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, on Nov. 13. The historic game will take place at the 75,000-seat Allianz Arena, home to FC Bayern Munich.
While the expansion into Germany is an NFL first, it will be the fourth time the Buccaneers will take part in the league's international series. They previously played three times in London in 2009, 2011 and 2019. Until this season, all international NFL games have taken place in London or Mexico City.
"This historic game will play a crucial role in the NFL's efforts to grow its international footprint while allowing us to directly engage NFL fans in Germany," Bucs owner and co-chairman Joel Glazer said at the time.
“Last year, as part of the League's expansion of the regular season to 17 games, it was determined that, beginning with the 2022 season, up to four of the teams from the conference whose teams were eligible for a ninth regular-season home game would instead be designated to play a neutral-site international game each year,” Buccaneers.com explained.
In other words, every eight years, each of the NFL’s 32 teams is going to play one international game.
Back in December, Tampa Bay was one of four teams given a new International Home Marketing Area (IHMA) in Germany. Along with the Bucs, such designation was granted for the Chiefs, Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots.
The NFL's Home Marketing Area Initiative is a five-year plan that allows teams to market themselves in international markets. That includes in-person events, sponsorships and merchandise sales.
In the next four seasons, one game will be played in Germany, specifically, each year. They’ll be held in both Munich and Frankfurt.