The Herald Sun has reported that the Allan state government has been in secret negotiations with the NFL for months, setting up Victoria to host three in-season matches as part of the deal.

The Los Angeles Rams are slated to take on rivals Philadelphia Eagles in October of 2026.

Both the Rams and the Eagles have international marketing rights to Australia after the NFL established an Academy on the Gold Coast in a bid to increase popularity in the Pacific region.

The deal is predicted to inject tens of millions of dollars into the Victorian economy.

Each match is set to be accompanied by week-long sporting activations in Melbourne, including fan zones and live screenings of the match.

Australia has an estimated 6.6 million NFL fans, boosted by the recent Australian recruits into the sport, including Eagles player Jordan Mailata, who is set to play against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief Felicia Mariani told The Herald Sun: “Anything like this is so incredibly important for continuing to grow our industry but also continuing to put Victoria on the global stage.

“If these matches are, in fact, part of a regular season and not just friendly exhibition matches, it makes an enormous difference to the audience in the US that will watch.

“There is no sport in the world that has the attraction and the audience as the NFL does in the US.”

Mariani added that the event was excellent on the back of the announcement from Us airline Delta Airlines that they would begin flying between Melbourne and Los Angeles for the first time.

“Keeping Victoria top of mind in front of potential American travellers is really important,” she said.

“There would be no better way to do that than through NFL matches with American football players, in Australia, on American television screens.”