Grinning Packers star Keisean Nixon admits he’s ‘REALLY EXCITED to go to Brazil’ for NFL’s season opener vs. Eagles… but slyly refuses to give a reason: ‘I ain’t gonna tell y’all why!’
Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon is admittedly “excited” to open the NFL season against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 6 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He just doesn’t say why.
“I was actually really excited to go to Brazil,” the smiling 26-year-old told reporters at Packers OTAs this week. ‘I still want to go to Brazil. I’m not going to tell you why, but I’m excited to go to Brazil.”
Then, after describing himself as a “leaping lemur,” Nixon repeated, “I’m excited to go to Brazil. Really excited.”
So what exactly is so exciting about Sao Paulo, Brazil? It’s world-class gastronomy? Famous architecture? The Museu do Futebol? Why would a young, apparently single man want to travel to a festive metropolis with almost twenty million inhabitants, more than half of whom are women?
It is a mystery through the ages.
Keisean Nixon is admittedly ‘excited’ to open the NFL season in Brazil. He just won’t say why
Sao Paulo is known for its carnival celebration with proactively dressed samba dancers
The Green Bay Packers will play the Philadelphia Eagles when the NFL holds its first regular season game in Brazil on September 6.
The game in Sao Paulo will be the first time since 1970 that the NFL will play a Friday night game during the opening weekend of the season.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had said in February that the Eagles would be the home team for the game. The NFL announced in April that the Packers would be the Eagles’ opponent.
The match will take place at the Corinthians Arena, home of the Brazilian football team Corinthians. The venue was used during the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
This will be the Packers’ second international game in the last three years. They played their first regular season match outside the United States in 2022, when they lost 27–22 to the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
“We look forward to being part of this historic game against the Eagles in Sao Paulo,” Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy said in a statement. “We are excited to play in front of our dedicated fans in Brazil and help build on the international popularity of the NFL and the Packers. We had a great experience when we played internationally for the first time a few years ago and we are proud to be part of the league’s continued global growth.”
The game will stream exclusively on Peacock and will also be available on free-to-air television in the Eagles and Packers local markets.
The last time the NFL had a Friday night game during opening weekend was September 18, 1970, when the Los Angeles Rams hosted the St. Louis Cardinals.
Revelers from the Vai Vai Samba School perform at the Sambadrome in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Sao Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes will hold an American football match in Brazil on August 10
A reveler from the samba school Mocidade Alegre performs during the second evening of carnival
The NFL game will take place at Corinthians Arena, home of the Corinthians football team
In March, Nixon signed a three-year deal worth $18 million, which included a $6.5 million signing bonus.
He made four starts at cornerback for the Packers last season, but made his biggest impact on special teams.
Nixon also had an NFL-leading 1,009 yards on kickoffs. He averaged 28.83 yards per kickoff return and had five returns of more than 50 yards, and had the best season average ever by a Packer with at least 30 kickoff returns.
Nixon was the fourth player since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to have more than 1,000 yards on 35 or fewer kick returns. The others were Alvin Haymond in 1970, Joe McKnight in 2011 and Cordarrelle Patterson in 2015 and 2020.
He also averaged 12.7 yards on 11 punt returns and had six special teams tackles.