The NFL will expand its international footprint during the 2025 season by playing its first ever regular-season game in Ireland.
While there are opportunities for the San Francisco 49ers to play overseas next season, they won’t be one of the teams participating in the league’s first jaunt to Ireland. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been designated as the home team for that contest.
Thanks to their last-place finish in the NFC West, the 49ers don’t face the Steelers next season. Instead they’ll visit the Cleveland Browns – the last place finisher in the AFC North.
That Cleveland game doe have the potential to take place overseas, it would just happen in London where the 49ers last played against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012.
While getting to be part of NFL history by playing in a country’s debut game would be cool, head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers would surely be okay with staying stateside for the entire season. The logistics and travel schedule that come with an international game are tough, and the last thing the 49ers need as they try and get back to Super Bowl form is the atypical travel and schedule that come with playing across the Atlantic.