Signs point to the Bears heading back across the pond in 2026, and there’s an obvious opponent that makes sense
Could the Chicago Bears head to Madrid, Spain, during the 2026 season?
The NFL announced major news on Monday morning about the 2026 regular season and the league’s international expansion.
This season, the NFL will host games in Paris, Melbourne, Rio De Janeiro, Munich, London, and Madrid. As of now, there will be eight international games across six countries this season, with the official dates and opponents yet to be announced.
While it hasn’t been announced yet, it’s highly likely that the Chicago Bears will play across the pond again in 2026, with a clear location and opponent for the matchup.
It’s likely we’ll see the Bears face off against the Dolphins in Madrid during the 2026 season
In 2025, the NFL expanded its Global Markets Program to include all 32 teams, establishing marketing rights in 21 international markets. The Bears were given two markets, Spain and the United Kingdom.
In 2024, the Bears faced the Jacksonville Jaguars in London and came away with a 35-16 win. Last season, the first NFL game was held in Spain between the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders. The Bears, Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs are the only three teams with marketing rights in Spain, so let’s use our logic here.
The Bears are scheduled to face the Dolphins during the 2026 regular season as one of Chicago’s eight road games. Since both teams have marketing rights in Spain, it would be a logical choice for the NFL to schedule a game in Madrid to help build brand awareness and fandom.
That would be a massive scheduling win for Chicago. The Bears have nine home games on the schedule, and getting a road game in Spain would be huge to avoid the Dolphins having a true “home-field advantage.” However, the NFL usually uses that extra “home” game for international games, so the league could simply pair the Bears up with one of the home opponents for this matchup.
With limited games remaining at Soldier Field due to the future stadium plans, losing a home game in 2026 would be a massive blow for the Chicago fanbase.
We’ll see what scheduling decision is made, but one way or another, all signs point toward the Bears having another international game this season, with Spain being the likely destination.
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