As part of the National Football League’s Global Markets Program (GMP) initiative, the New England Patriots submitted a proposal and were awarded Brazil as their newest global territory. As a result, this program will allow the Patriots opportunities for in-person and digital marketing, corporate sponsorship sales, fan events, activations, merchandise sales and co-marketing relationships with other sports and entertainment properties in Brazil.
The Patriots have been part of the League’s GMP initiative since it launched in 2022, having originally been awarded Germany and later expanding their rights to Austria and Switzerland (April 2023). Most recently, the Patriots participated in an international game hosted by the NFL in Frankfurt, Germany last November.
“Our organization has been committed to expanding our reach and our brand globally since we bought the team in 1994,” said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. “We have used our internet and social media platforms to reach millions of fans around the world and are proud to have played regular season games in the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Germany. More recently, the development of the NFL’s Global Markets Program has allowed us to show an even stronger commitment to developing deeper connections in other countries by providing additional rights that allow us to both market our team and promote the great game of American football. We know some of our most passionate fans are in South America and we are excited to expand our international home market to Brazil.”
The Patriots on-field success over the last 20 years helped grow the fan base in Brazil significantly, with a strong social presence in the market on both Instagram and X.
Additionally, Massachusetts has the second-largest Brazilian population behind Florida in the United States. Three other New England states (Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island) also have some of the largest Brazilian populations in the country residing in their state, making the Patriots the true home team for many Brazilians in the region.
“As we continue to explore new opportunities to grow our brand globally, Brazil offers us an already established passionate Patriots fan base that we can nurture and further develop through the league’s Global Markets Program,” said Jen Ferron, Chief Marketing Officer. “We look forward to expanding our reach through the country and leveraging our experience from marketing the Patriots in the DACH region to drive even more engagement and fandom.”
Capitalizing on program execution that has been successful in other markets, the team will be allowed to work with and through strategic partners to develop commercial opportunities in Brazil. Hosting watch parties for Patriots games, conducting football camps, partnering with Brazilian sponsors and organizing goodwill ambassador tours with Patriots players are all allowed under the Global Markets Program and will be among the many opportunities the Patriots will begin pursuing later this year. Similar to the Patriots approach in Europe, they will turn to their official global employment platform partner, G-P, to explore opportunities to hire staff in the new market.
“G-P is thrilled to partner with Kraft Sports + Entertainment and the New England Patriots on their global growth journey,” said Nicole Sahin, founder and CEO of G-P. “Building teams in new countries can be complicated, but G-P’s global growth technology makes it easy to enter new markets quickly. From enabling the franchise’s first hire in Germany, now into Brazil, G-P is excited to help the Patriots grow American football’s global fandom and drive the future of the sport.”
The most recent GMP application process allowed all 32 NFL clubs the opportunity to submit proposals for the eligible country or countries they desired. The GMP has grown and now spreads across 19 international markets including Argentina, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Republic of Ireland, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Clubs are awarded rights for at least a five-year term through the program. The Patriots now have four international markets including Brazil, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Over the next several months, the Patriots will announce new initiatives and events planned for Brazil. To keep up to date with those announcements, sign up for the Patriots Brazil Newsletter.
