Vikings Get Curveball on 2024 Schedule
Every other year, the Minnesota Vikings and 15 NFC teams have the enhanced advantage of nine homes instead of eight.
But that won’t happen in 2024.
Vikings Get Curveball on 2024 Schedule
The Vikings were picked for London football next autumn, meaning the nine-home-game perk is dead until 2026. Once again, in reality, Minnesota will have eight home games and nine road contests.
NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero tweeted Thursday morning, “The Bears, Vikings and Jaguars will each play international games in London during the 2024 regular season, while the Panthers will head to Munich, Germany. Opponents, dates and kickoff times will be announced when the 2024 schedule is revealed this spring.”
The opponent and date are unknown in January but will be announced in May. Minnesota last played in London during the 2022 season and chipped off the New Orleans Saints in a thriller.
The 2024 game will occur at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the same location as Minnesota’s previous meeting. VikingsTerritory‘s Adam New explained about Minnesota in England, “In December 2021, the Vikings were awarded one of the international home marketing initiatives for the UK. All four teams playing in the UK and Germany are part of that program, which awards international marketing rights to NFL teams in countries beyond the U.S. The Bears, Vikings, and Jaguars have international marketing rights in the U.K. The Panthers are among the teams with marketing rights in Germany.”
Ergo, as part of the program, playing in the United Kingdom more frequently than other NFL squads is seemingly a requirement.
New continued, “It should be no surprise that these teams are playing, with the Vikings making the trip for the second time in three years. Semi-regular trips should probably be expected until the NFL reaches the point where every team plays one international game a year, which is what I believe is the end goal for this initiative and the purpose of introducing the 17th game.”
The Vikings also played a British exhibition game versus the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983. The franchise has not played in Germany yet, but fans should expect that before too long, as Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is German and, in fact, was born in West Berlin.
Minnesota is undefeated in London games, including the aforementioned exhibition contest 40 years ago. In 2013, the team toppled the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cleveland Browns in 2017, and most recently, the Saints. So, 3-0 (or 4-0 with the 1983 matchup).
British Vikings fan Paul McElhinney tweeted Thursday, “I think my head is going to explode. I was literally talking 2 days ago to my wife about going to US Bank to tick off my bucket list & they are coming to London. I pray I can get some tickets this time.”
On the other hand, some American Vikings fans — including the author of this article — complained about the lack of nine-game homefield advantage, even though Minnesota was 2-6 (.250) at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2023.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.