It was an historic occasion on Sunday afternoon, as the NFL hosted their first ever American football game on Spanish soil. The Washington Commanders fell to defeat 16-13 to the Miami Dolphins in overtime, in front of a full Bernabeu.
Much of the week, being an international break, had seen Madrid’s squares full of events and promotion for the NFL game, with Antoine Griezmann taking an active role in several of them. The likes of Diego Simeone and Antonio Rudiger also took a keen interest in the game, which saw an attendance of 78,610 for the game, outstripping the attendance for the Clasico just three weeks earlier.
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Economic impact on Madrid
According to Diario AS, the Madrid City Council were estimating an economic impact across the week of around €170m, with €21m pertaining solely to bars and restaurants. Tickets to the game sold for between €80 and €5k. They say that the local authorities and the NFL, not to mention Real Madrid, consisdered the event a great success, although gameday saw the organisation from the NFL result in hour-long queues to get into the stadium, and overwhelmed food and drink stands within the stadium. It is not noted how much Los Blancos earned from the game. The impact was similar to that generated by other international games in Munich, London and Dublin, which were around the €200m mark.
Image via AFP7 vía Europa Press
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Visitors to Madrid
The visit of the NFL saw huge numbers of Americans descend on the Spanish capital, with many fans flying in from Miami and Washington, but also an international audience. It is estimated that around 42,000 of the crowd, which is to say 54%, came from abroad to see the match. The average stay in Madrid was around four days.
🚨🇪🇸 Robin Le Normand’s return appears to be ahead of schedule, as he’s already back training on the pitch.
He’s showing positive signs, though playing against Getafe this weekend may still be a bit early.@mundodeportivo pic.twitter.com/K50QmBAJ2M
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) November 18, 2025
The NFL’s Chief Commissioner Roger Goodell proclaimed on the day that they ‘would definitely be back’ in Spain, and already it seems there is a hunger to become a regular part of the NFL international circuit. Both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have expressed an interest in hosting gamea down the line at the Metropolitano and Camp Nou respectively, once renovations are complete in the case of the latter.
