Joe Burrow's unusual NFL scheduling request actually got granted, but it took a year to happen

The Bengals quarterback makes things happen, even when it comes to the league's schedule

When the NFL revealed Tuesday that the Cincinnati Bengals are headed to Spain for a game against the Atlanta Falcons this year, there's a good chance no one was happier about that than Joe Burrow.

The Bengals quarterback, who has been in the NFL since 2020, has never played in an international game. Burrow thought the Bengals were going to get one last year, but that didn't happen. After getting passed over on the international schedule, Burrow made it clear he was disappointed his team wouldn't be going abroad. As crazy as it sounds, that might have actually factored into why the NFL decided to send the Bengals to Madrid this year.

Let's break down what exactly transpired over the past 12 months.

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Burrow's 2025 disappointment

In February  of 2025, the NFL announced that the Miami Dolphins would be playing the first game ever in Madrid. By March, there was speculation the Dolphins would face the Bengals. Those rumors reached Burrow, who let his 4.2 million Instagram followers know how he felt about the possibility of playing in Madrid.

"Please be true," Burrow wrote about the Bengals-Dolphins rumor.

Joe Burrow wants to play in Spain next year (via IG) pic.twitter.com/DtenxO5CJ9

— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) March 18, 2025

Unfortunately for Burrow, the Dolphins ended up playing the Washington Commanders in Spain instead.

During an interview after the 2025 schedule came out, Burrow was asked if he had any scheduling requests.

"Maybe an international game next year," Burrow said. 

It was an unusual request, if only because most players don't usually come out and ask for more international games. The fiercely private Burrow then revealed one reason he volunteered to be on Netflix's "Quarterback" show was to help spread the game to more international fans.

"Part of the reason I wanted to do the 'Quarterback' show, I wanted to help grow the game internationally, and so to not have a stage like that is a little disappointing," Burrow said. "Because I feel like I've consciously worked hard to try to grow the game internationally over the last 18 months or so. So hopefully at some point in my career we can go over there."

The Bengals are one of just five teams -- along with the Cowboys, Lions, Texans and Raiders -- that have yet to play an international game this decade, so it's easy to see why Burrow was a little frustrated.

The NFL apparently heard Burrow's complaint

When a star quarterback says he's disappointed about the schedule, the NFL definitely takes notice, and the league did exactly that in this situation. During an interview in April, the NFL's vice president of broadcast planning, Mike North, was asked if the Bengals would receive an international game in 2026, and he admitted he was aware of Burrow's complaint from 2025.

"He's been vocal about it," North told Bengals.com. "I remember he was pretty disappointed last year when you guys didn't go. I think that's a real possibility for the Bengals this year."

North, the NFL's scheduling guru, doesn't usually offer blatant hints about the upcoming schedule, but he did this year by essentially tipping that Cincinnati would be headed to Madrid. He also credited Burrow's popularity as one reason it made sense for the NFL to send the Bengals to Europe.

"They've got one of those fan bases, thanks in large part to the quarterback, that resonates in Europe and across the planet," North said.

Burrow's reaction to the international game

The Bengals found out Tuesday they were being scheduled for their first international game since 2019, and fittingly, the team celebrated by photoshopping Burrow's Instagram story from a year ago.

Please. pic.twitter.com/89u5ItC9v0

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) May 12, 2026

One reason Burrow wanted an international game is because he believes the Bengals are the perfect team to help spread the game worldwide.

"The game has a lot of room to grow," Burrow said Tuesday, via the team's official website. "Just like basketball did in the '80s and '90s. The Bulls kind of spearheaded that. Made it global, and hopefully the Bengals can do the same thing over the next couple of years for the NFL."

That sounds like a guy who'd like to play in a few more international games over the next several years.

Burrow's scheduling request from last year seemed to help the Bengals land an international game this year, so he sent out another request Tuesday -- this time directed at the team: He wants to go to Spain early.

"I hope we go out early in the week so we can experience it a little bit," Burrow said. "Get acclimated to the time zone, have some team bonding out there. Expand my horizons a little bit."

It might not take much to convince Zac Taylor to head to Spain early. The Bengals coach sounded excited when he was asked about the possibility of playing an international game this year during a press conference before the official Bengals-Falcons announcement.

"It's a great opportunity to promote the game internationally," Taylor said. "We have a tremendous team with a lot of high-end talent. To take center stage in the world would be exciting for everybody. To promote the Bengals' brand internationally, I think, is awesome."

Taylor and Burrow will now look to lead the Bengals to their first international win in franchise history. This will be the Bengals' third trip abroad, and they went 0-1-1 in their previous two games, making them one of just seven teams that has never won an international game.