NFL Owners Discuss International Super Bowl, Rashee Rice, Seahawks Sale, and More

Inside NFL owners meetings: International Super Bowl talk, Rashee Rice fallout, Seahawks sale buzz and more

Plus, the Vikings narrowed their GM search, NFL owners approved another private equity investment and the league's Olympic flag football plans are taking shape

By Jonathan Jones

May 20, 2026 at 2:33 pm ET • 10 min read

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As the NFL continues its global expansion, I thought it was appropriate to ask NFL EVP Peter O'Reilly about the potential for an international Super Bowl . The league is playing more games than ever outside the United States and starting to get the hang of this traveling roadshow.

The one-day league meetings Tuesday included news of more international regular-season games and Nashville getting the 2030 Super Bowl, so why not mix the two topics? While no NFL executive in their right mind would publicly bite on a question about how likely a potential international Super Bowl is, feasibility is another question.

"I don't know if I can fully parse that in terms of feasibility versus likelihood, but if you're just talking feasibility, obviously as we go to different stadiums around the world we're getting a better sense of those buildings," O'Reilly said. "And as we go around the world we get a sense of passion there, the governmental partnerships, private sector partnerships and otherwise. I think all of that strengthens the foundation that you need to perhaps some day on a far-off horizon have an international SB. We have great buildings like Tottenham that were built with the NFL in mind from Day 1. So I think passion, partners, some stadiums, there's some feasibility.

"There is tremendous demand, as we saw today from Nashville, from U.S. cities in hosting a major event and the massive economic impact that comes with it. But we're learning every day in terms of feasibility and readiness."

The NFL has its next four Super Bowl sites booked, with L.A. hosting this season, followed by Atlanta, Las Vegas and finally Nashville in a stadium that has not yet been completed. New Orleans has thrown its hat back into the ring for 2031, which is the next available year. By that time, new stadiums should be ready in both D.C. and Denver, which have the surrounding infrastructure needed to host a Super Bowl.

L.A. and Vegas appear to be staples in the rotation. If Miami can work with the league on its rules about space outside the stadium — the F1 additions there currently mean the Dolphins cannot host a Super Bowl — then South Florida can get back into the mix.

So all that said, if the NFL ever actually wants to have an international Super Bowl with all the obstacles that won't ever change, we are the better part of a decade away from it at the absolute earliest.

In fairness to O'Reilly and the league, he made clear this is not a "front burner issue" for the league. "We don't spend a lot of time on this particular topic at the moment," he said.

But there had been a belief the NFL wouldn't have an international Super Bowl until there was a team in that city. O'Reilly said that is not a prerequisite, and in fact the league has not considered the sequencing of whether a team must be there in order to play a Super Bowl there.

O'Reilly mentioning Tottenham, along with the league's long-standing games in London and many team owners' comfort there, would seemingly point to London as the obvious first choice if this ever comes to fruition.

From my perspective, for so many reasons, it seems extremely unlikely America's biggest sporting event will take place outside of America any time in the next several years, if it ever happens at all.

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Rashee Rice's latest setback

Rashee Rice is in jail for the next month after violating the terms of his probation by allegedly testing positive for THC. Though it is true Rice would always have to serve 30 days in jail at some point in a five-year span, it was not expected to happen now after undergoing knee surgery one week ago, according to ESPN

I do not know for sure whether Rice will face punishment from the NFL for this probation violation. As one well-placed source said, "it's hard to tell."

The probation stems from his role in a multi-car crash in 2024. In July 2025, a judge ruled Rice would have to serve those 30 days at some point over the next five years. From there, the NFL suspended Rice five games to begin the 2025 season.

Obviously the league will investigate what happened here, but in some ways, punishing Rice again would seem like a form of double jeopardy. The league has relaxed its prohibitions on marijuana in recent years. But the NFL's personal conduct policy gives it broad latitude, and any misstep by someone who served a multi-game suspension within the past year could logically make them a candidate for repeat-offender status.

It is more uncertainty for the Chiefs , who at this point have to realize they cannot rely on Rice to be available. He's in the final year of his rookie contract and has quite literally cost himself millions of dollars over the past two years.

Vikings GM search nears final stage

The Vikings are moving forward with in-person, second-round interviews for their GM position. According to sources, five men made the cut for the interviews, which will take place after Memorial Day.

Vikings interim GM Rob Brzezinski, Broncos AGM Reed Burckhardt, Bills AGM Terrance Gray, Rams AGM John McKay and Seahawks AGM Nolan Teasley are the finalists for the gig.

Brzezinski has been with the Vikings since before Y2K, and the belief in him was high enough that the team didn't feel the need to rush to hire a GM before the draft. Burckhardt has been in Denver for four years and was promoted to AGM last year. He has worked with George Paton for 15-plus years, and Paton maintains strong relationships and respect within the Vikings organization where he cut his teeth.

Gray has risen to become Brandon Beane's right hand in recent years. He spent more than a decade in Minnesota before going to Buffalo. McKay is the youngest of this group, comes from a football family and has been in the front office of one of the most consistent franchises in the NFL the past decade. McKay also worked closely with Kevin O'Connell when the Vikings head coach was a Rams assistant.

Teasley is the only one lacking obvious Minnesota ties. He came highly recommended by Seahawks GM John Schneider, and he just won a Super Bowl as the No. 2 in command.

The Vikings clearly want a GM who can speak the same football language as the head coach but who can also manage the building. Few would be surprised if Brzezinski ultimately lands the job, but sources have said they can't imagine a Vikings organization without him in it. So if he isn't selected as GM, perhaps there is a role where he reports directly to ownership — rather than the newcomer — and maintains control over football operations while the GM focuses on football.

Browns valuation raises eyebrows

NFL owners approved the sale of 3% of the Cleveland Browns to the private equity firm Arctos. That percentage can grow up to 10%, but for now the Haslams just sold the 3% portion, according to sources.

Bloomberg reports the purchase came at a $9 billion valuation, which far surpasses estimates of the team's value between $6 billion and $7 billion. That leads to one of two assumptions: either the outlets that put together team valuations are terribly misinformed about the Browns, or Arctos is considering where the Browns will be valued at a future date that will include increased revenue from the Brook Park stadium scheduled to open in three years.

Some quick math means the Haslams got about $270 million for this transaction alone. That can refill the coffers after spending to get the stadium over the finish line, or it can be some walking-around money. But remember the Haslams also have a stake in the Milwaukee Bucks, and the NBA allows for PE firms to buy slices of teams. Perhaps this leads to something there — or at other sports properties — in the future.

The NFL allowed PE firms to buy pieces of teams two years ago. Arctos just bought into its third team after the Bills and Chargers . Other teams have sold small, non-voting pieces to other firms. Yes, NFL teams are worth more than ever, but owners don't have easy ways to access that money. Billionaires who aren't currently in the NFL may not be keen on buying a few percentage points that give them a) no path to full control and/or b) no say in anything. So as facility costs rise in the NFL, PE firms give teams the ability to access capital.

Seahawks sale could set new benchmark

Sources say the league is hopeful the Seattle Seahawks ultimately sell for north of $9 billion. Whether the Seahawks fetch that number, though…

Roger Goodell said Tuesday that contrary to some reports, "there's actually been tremendous interest" in purchasing the team. So far only one known bidder — former Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck — has emerged.

A few sources around the league figure the winning bid will be similar to Josh Harris 's when he put together several limited partners to get the money to buy the Washington Commanders in 2023. The team sold for $6.05 billion, which was an extremely important number both to previous owner Dan Snyder and the NFL at large.

Whenever a team is sold, the NFL wants to set a new benchmark. Rising tide, boats, etc. A proud Washington franchise needed to go for $6 billion, and they got there with a complex deal that included deferred payments via "earnouts," according to the great reporters Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala . Those earnouts could wind up being $200 million, which would make the actual sale price closer to $5.85 billion. But who's counting?!

That, plus the above note on the Browns' valuation, is instructive here. It doesn't always have to be what the current valuation is. You may recall when the Celtics sold last year, about half the team went at a $6.1 billion valuation with the second half going years later at a $7 billion valuation. In short, there are some mechanisms to help get you to the number you may want.

The sale could happen this summer. If it does happen that quickly, I wouldn't expect any changes to the Seahawks as fans see it. New NFL owners rarely tinker with the team in the first year at the controls.

NFL Accelerator Program feedback

The NFL's Accelerator Program took place on Monday and Tuesday, and an informal survey of the participants showed they got a lot of positives from it.

The group of 34, which for the first time included white men, had two days worth of programming and networking. Those putting on the program were concerned the league's shortened meetings schedule would mean less time for the accelerators with NFL team owners. But from my perspective, there was an impressive showing for the optional Tuesday breakfast, and the mandatory lunch seemed to go well, too.

Good on the NFL for doing away with the speed dating of accelerators and owners. The matchmaking was forced and awkward for everyone.

Now, whether this leads to more men of color getting head coach and GM positions won't be known for some time. The NFL hasn't seen a high level of success there since beginning the program in 2022.

NFL players in the 2028 Olympics?

To cut to the chase, it seems certain there will be NFL players in the 2028 Olympics. Who and how many are the questions. But there won't be much to report on that until 2027.

Peter O'Reilly said Tuesday the league is a few weeks from putting out "expression of interest" to players to see who raises their hands for consideration. Once next year rolls around, the league and USA Football will have some decisions to begin to make.

While NFL team owners have agreed to allow players to participate in flag football at the Olympics, that doesn't mean team owners will

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-owners-meetings-international-super-bowl-rashee-rice-seahawks-sale/)._