NFL rumors: Chicago Bears will be KC Chiefs opponent in Germany

Will it really be the Chiefs and Bears in Germany? One rumor surfacing in Chicago says so.

For the last couple of years, we’ve known that the Kansas City Chiefs were going to make a considerable investment in Germany as a new territory in which they can market their product—the team, the players, the brand. Part of that investment also meant that the Chiefs were going to be physically showing off what they can do with an international game in one of two host cities: Frankfurt or Munich.

After last season’s schedule was unveiled and the Chiefs were left standing in the U.S. all year, it was clear the Chiefs would be heading to Europe in 2023. On Monday, a rumor surfaced saying that the Chiefs might now know their opponent for next season: the Chicago Bears.

David Kaplan is a local radio host and podcaster covering Chicago sports—in part, as host of Kap and J. Hood’s show on ESPN Chicago—and he broke the news on Monday quoting sources that the Bears and Chiefs would be one of the NFL’s international exhibitions next year.

The Bears were already on the list of Chiefs’ home opponents for next year and it’s an interesting choice that the league would go with this pairing. Perhaps it follows suit with most games sent overseas to the UK so far that really aren’t intended to be high-profile matchups that turn out to be important for playoff contention. After all, the intrigue of the game on an international field is often enough to draw fans.

If the league okays the Bears as the Chiefs’ opponent in Germany, then that means the NFL is also hungry to save stronger matchups to juice up the regular season schedule (and ratings results) for its broadcast partners—a list of other home opponents-to-be that includes the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions—not to mention the AFC West.