Miami Dolphins playing in 2020 NFL International Series. What that means for fans
The Miami Dolphins will be playing abroad during their 2020 season, with one of the team’s regular-season games played as part of the NFL’s International Series, according to NFL sources.
It remains unclear if the Dolphins will be playing in London or Mexico City but the fact is the team, which has historically had a strong international following in both the United Kingdom and Mexico, will be headed to one of those countries as a home team next season.
The Dolphins’ opponent for that International Series game will be determined at a later date.
Officially known through 2016 as the NFL International Series, since 2017 the series has had two sub-series: The NFL London Game, which has been in place since 2007, and the NFL Mexico Game, which began in 2016 with a predecessor game in 2005.
The Dolphins have actually competed in both places. Miami and the New York Giants kicked off the London games in 2007 and the Dolphins returned to the UK in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
The Dolphins have never played a regular-season game in Mexico but played Denver in a preseason at the famed Azteca Stadium before 104,629 fans in 1997.
The addition of the Dolphins to the International Series next season means the team will host seven rather than eight home games at Hard Rock Stadium.
As a result, the team is deciding to not raise ticket prices for season ticket holders next year. Mailers and emails were scheduled to go out Monday to season ticket customers announcing that ticket prices would either remain flat or decline in price, depending on location, on a per game basis for 2020.
The timing of this news, one day after Miami’s first 2019 victory -- a stirring 26-18 decision over the rival New York Jets -- is coincidental, according to sources. Work on adding the Dolphins to The International Series has been ongoing for weeks.
The Dolphins expect 2020 to be a milestone year, as the football side of the organization will have three first-round draft picks and two second-round draft picks among its total April NFL draft haul. The club also has amassed approximately $120 million in salary cap space for the 2020 season, and general manager Chris Grier has said he will be aggressive in using that money rather than letting it sit.
The club also is building a massive training facility through next year adjacent to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, which is scheduled to open in 2021.
Owner Stephen Ross, who is paying for the practice facility, has always allowed his football people to spend up to the salary cap at their discretion every year he’s owned the team since 2009.
An NFL announcement on the International Series is expected this week, perhaps as early as Monday.
This story was originally published November 4, 2019 at 11:45 AM.
