NFL Taking Extra Precaution Ahead of First-Ever Game in Brazil

The city of São Paulo, Brazil, is set to host the first-ever NFL game played in South America. While it is a shining moment for the city and the NFL, players have voiced concerns about traveling to a new country to play their season openers.

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Because of this, São Paulo has tightened the security ahead of Friday's contest between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. The game will be played at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, the first NFL game on the South American continent and the first Week 1 game held on a Friday evening since 1970.

Eagles players have been vocal regarding the city's security and safety level.

"We had a meeting with a whole bunch of 'don't do's.' So, I'm just trying to go down there, win a football game and come back home," wide receiver A.J. Brown told reporters last week.

Eagles star cornerback Darius Slay Jr. also voiced his concern.

"Week 1, I'm looking forward to it, I can't wait," Slay Jr. said recently on his "Big Play Slay" podcast. "But man, I do not want to go to Brazil, you want to know why? I'm here to tell you why. They already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we can't do too much going on because the crime rate is crazy.

"... I'm like, NFL why y'all wanna send us somewhere where the crime rate is this high and we out the country? You know, the first thing people are thinking is like some terror could possibly happen. I told my family do not come down there because I'm not going to be nowhere to be found. I'm going to be in the hotel chilling, minding my business, playing my game after a long 9½-hour flight."

Slay Jr. later shared on Twitter/X that he didn't mean to offend anyone with his comments regarding the city.

Player safety should be the league's No. 1 concern, and an NFL game being played in the 17th-most dangerous country in the world by murder rate, according to Statista data, is a concern. Nonetheless, what is done is done, and the city is doing its best to ensure the players feel safe prior to, during, and after the game.

Regardless, Friday's game will be one for the ages as these two teams will look to establish their dominance in the NFC and the entire league. This matchup could be a playoff preview, as two of the league's top offenses will go head-to-head.

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