Dallas Cowboys are headed to Brazil and are guaranteed NFL history as a result of it

After months of speculation surrounding the Dallas Cowboys' chances of playing an international game, America's Team is headed to Brazil.

The Cowboys announced on Thursday night they would play in the NFL's Rio de Janeiro game during the 2026 NFL season. It's a historic announcement: It will be the first-ever regular season game played in Rio de Janeiro, as the last two games in Brazil have taken place in Sao Paulo.

The Cowboys are finally playing an international game

This will mark the first time since 2014 the Cowboys play a football game outside of the United States. They are currently the only team in the NFL to not play more than one regular season game abroad. Well, now they have a second one in their schedule.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters last year he believed Dallas would no longer be able to avoid an international game, and cited Mexico as his preferred destination. However, ESPN's John Sutcliffe reported last week Jones' business interests in Brazil could make the Rio destination make sense.

Jones has said in the past that part of the reason why the Cowboys don't play a lot of international games is that they're often vetoed as the visiting teams by teams giving up a home game as Dallas is usually a big draw in terms of attendance.