Why the NFL Chose 49ers–Rams for Its First Australia Game

SAN FRANCISCO — The Rams will have both the familiar and unfamiliar as they will face the 49ers, arguably their fiercest divisional rival, next season in Australia, a new international territory for the NFL. Los Angeles, however, wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Rams president Kevin Demoff lauded the upcoming game in Melbourne, calling it a natural synthesis between considerations for the team and the league.

“It’s going to be a great matchup to export,” Demoff told Front Office Sports. “Anytime you take one of these games, you have to wear two hats. On one hand, you have to wear your Rams hat and what’s the best opponent for us and for Australia. But it’s also about what’s the best game for the league to grow the sport and taking that bigger picture.”

The Thursday announcement of the 49ers playing the Rams involves one of the NFL’s fiercest and long-running rivalries. The teams have met regularly since 1950, and like MLB’s famed Dodgers-Giants rivalry, the collective history of the two NFL franchises ties directly into the cultural and economic differences between Los Angeles and San Francisco. 

The Rams are one of four teams with international rights to Australia as part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program, and their involvement in the Melbourne game was first announced before last year’s Super Bowl. 

Scheduling Matters

The Rams’ game against the 49ers in Australia will very likely be played during Week 1 of the 2026 NFL schedule, but it’s not yet determined exactly when it will happen. Complicating that situation is the 19-hour time difference between the U.S. West Coast and Melbourne. Final decisions, however, will be made in the next several months in advance of the May release of the full 2026 schedule. 

Los Angeles, like other NFL teams playing international games, could protect two home games from being designated for overseas play. The Rams have a stacked 2026 home schedule that includes the Bills, Chiefs, Cowboys, and Packers as particularly marquee matchups outside of the NFC West division. That already would have pushed the 49ers toward the top of the list for the Australia game. 

Demoff, however, said the final matchup emerged more organically in discussions with the league.

“It was always a conversation,” Demoff says. “This is the first game in Melbourne. Obviously, they wanted a big opponent. … Somebody like the Buffalo Bills aren’t flying all the way to Melbourne. The likelihood was that it was probably going to be a divisional team, otherwise you’re asking somebody to make a really long trip. But for us, it comes down to making sure we can make this the biggest possible event it can be.”

Thinking Big

The Melbourne game is now one of an unprecedented set of nine international contests the NFL will play during the 2026 regular season, joining newly unveiled trips to Spain, France, and Mexico, and previously disclosed ones to Brazil, Germany, and three more to England. The NFL also said Thursday that the Cowboys will play in the Brazil game, set for Rio de Janeiro. 

Demoff said such games remain critical as a significant portion of the NFL’s future growth will occur outside of the U.S.

“I love what’s happening with the league’s global growth,” Demoff said. “We had a chance to play this season in London [against the Jaguars]. Seeing what’s happening there, the understanding now in the market. Watching [wide receiver] Puka Nacua go through the streets of London, it’s all so different compared to the first time we played there in 2012. And to see that all multiplied in places like Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Germany, it’s so exciting. While the travel is hard, we want to continue to grow the game as best we can.”