Dolphins Announced as Home Team for Madrid Game on 2025 NFL Schedule
January 17, 2025
The NFL continues to fill out the teams that will play international games during the 2025 season, with the Miami Dolphins set to play in Spain.
It was announced by the league on Friday that the Dolphins will be the designated home team for the first-ever regular-season game in Madrid.
Dolphins vice chairman, president and CEO Tom Garfinkel issued a statement included in the announcement about the historic event:
"We are thrilled to play the NFL's inaugural game in Spain, a country of rich history, tradition and passion and home to a vibrant Dolphins fanbase. There is a hunger for football in this market, and we are proud to join with the NFL in growing the game internationally while engaging with old and new fans alike. With the unique synergy between Miami and Madrid, we believe this is only the beginning for us in this incredible region and we look forward to bringing the excitement and community of Dolphins football to Spain in 2025 and beyond."
The Dolphins are the fifth club to be a designated team for the international games next season. The New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars will all play in London.
The Indianapolis Colts will be the home team for a game at Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany.
It was announced by the NFL in February 2024 that Madrid would host a game during the 2025 regular season. The Dolphins and Chicago Bears seemed like frontrunners to be the home team since they both have international marketing rights in Spain as part of the league's global markets program.
The NFL hosted five international games during the 2024 regular season, including its first-ever game in Brazil.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters in November the league's hope for 2025 was to expand the international series to eight games, including one potentially in Ireland.
As for potential opponents the Dolphins could face in Madrid, their home schedule next season includes three games against divisional opponents (Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets) plus the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders.
The league has more recently avoided scheduling divisional matchups for international games. The most recent one occurred during the 2022 season when the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals played in Mexico City.
This will be the sixth international game for the Dolphins since 2007. They played the first London game in 2007 against the New York Giants. Their most recent international game was during the 2023 season when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Germany.
Miami's opponent for the Madrid game wiil likely be revealed closer to when the full 2025 schedule is announced later in the spring.
