A general view prior to a 2024 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Wagner Meier/Getty Images)
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Before the Kansas City Chiefs’ final preseason game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was juggling a football with his feet.
His former Chiefs teammate and current Chicago Bears kicker, Cairo Santos, remarked, “Hey, Pat, you warming up for Brazil?”
“I’m trying to adapt to the country,” Mahomes replied.
Soccer indeed still does reign supreme in Brazil, but football — or futbol Americano — is making strides to catch up.
“It’s huge,” Santos, the first and only Brazilian to ever play in an NFL game, exclusively shared. “It’s the fastest-growing sport in Brazil.”
Right now, American football ranks behind soccer, basketball, volleyball, surfing, MMA and Formula One racing and is near the bottom of the top 10 most popular sports in Brazil.
But the goal is to be in the top five in five to seven years, according to Luis Martinez, the general manager of the NFL’s office in Brazil, which was established a year ago.
Though American football in Brazil doesn’t have the following it does in Mexico, England or Germany, the NFL is making a concentrated push because of Brazil’s large population (212.6 million, including 11.9 million in Sao Paolo, which is the setting for Friday’s game) and large social media consumption (144 million active users as of January 2025).
“The potential is there,” Martinez exclusively shared. “But we still have a big, big, big way to build.”
Grass Roots Initiatives
Friday’s game will be the second annual NFL game in Brazil, but an effort is being made at the grass roots level — especially in flag football.
School programs are being developed with the Secretary of Education of the government, and two national flag football tournaments (under-12 coed and under-14 coed) are underway, and a third (under-15 female) is starting this year, as women make up 40% of their NFL fandom.
According to Martinez’s data from Fantracker, there are 36 million active NFL fans, but only 20% to 24% call themselves “avid” fans.
Passionate fans, though, do play in the Brasil Bowl. Santos has served as a radio commentator for the championship game of the Brasil Bowl, which was founded in 2010, now has 21 teams and is played by adults who supply their own uniforms.
“They’re basically investing as a hobby,” Santos said, “but playing the game (at) a very serious and competitive level.”
Interest among both adults and children should grow with the increasing available broadcast options.
In addition to GamePass, the international version of the NFL+ subscription service, RedeTV broadcasted one live NFL game a week last year. But for this season, Grupo Globo, the biggest Brazilian broadcaster, will televise Thursday Night Football and Sunday Night Football, and ESPN continues to broadcast Monday Night Football there.
“More people watching our games, our highlights,” Martinez said, “that’s the main priority.”
Brazil’s Favorite NFL Teams Include the Chiefs
Friday’s game between the Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers is available for free on YouTube.
Last year’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers already has made an impact. Both are two of the more popular teams. The Packers sport the same colors as Brazil’s flag, and the Eagles began their 2024 campaign with a win in Brazil before ending it by winning Super Bowl LIX.
“Brazil is becoming a lucky charm,” Martinez said.
The New England Patriots are popular because of Tom Brady’s then-Brazilian wife.
“People used to call him, ‘Oh, he’s Gisele’s husband,’” Santos said. “That’s how the newspapers would say it.”
An NFL fan takes pictures of a mural of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Photo by Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)
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Both the Eagles and Patriots — along with the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions — have global marketing rights in Brazil.
The Chiefs — the team that succeeded the Patriots in becoming the NFL’s next dynasty — also have a strong following. Santos, who still has family in Brazil and travels there once to twice a year, was Kansas City’s kicker from 2014 to 2017.
“The Chiefs started to grow a lot because of my presence with the team, and after I left, it started taking off even more after winning Super Bowls,” Santos said. “They’re one of the most popular teams in Brazil right now.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said he’s honored that his team was chosen to play in Brazil, and many Chiefs have expressed enthusiasm about it — despite some concerns about the long flight — especially defensive end George Karlaftis who was born in Athens, Greece.
“I’m a huge proponent obviously, being an international guy,” Karlaftis said. “More and more international games being played, I think that’s the next step in getting this great game to grow kind of internationally. So I’m all for it.”
Karlaftis’ last action came in the preseason against the Bears. On the Bears sideline was Santos, the former Chiefs kicker who was born just outside of Sao Paolo.
Before that preseason Bears-Chiefs contest, Santos’ former long snapper, James Winchester, and former special teams coach, Dave Toub, peppered him with questions about the Brazilian food, and Santos recommended eating picanha steak and sushi.
After the game Santos suggested a touchdown dance to Travis Kelce, which would resonate with Brazilian fans. Might the player, who has become a global sensation after proposing to Taylor Swift, actually do something uniquely Brazilian?
“We’ll have to see,” Santos said. “He seemed to like it.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffedotin/2025/09/04/nfl-in-brazil-is-fledgling-but-growing-in-popularity/
