The Chiefs are “talking to the league” about ways to play more international games. As is, they are a big draw around the U.S., so other teams don’t want to give up the revenue that comes with a visit from Chiefs Kingdom. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for example, rejected the Chiefs as the “away” team for their game in Munich last season, Donovan said.

Kansas City is the designated “home” team in Frankfurt, as will be the New England Patriots next week against the Indianapolis Colts.The Chiefs have spent about $1 million in preparation and fan events for Frankfurt — that includes docking a Chiefs-themed yacht in the Main River. Over the past nearly three years, the team has spent about $3 million on its international efforts, with the majority invested in Germany, Donovan said.“It’s going to pay off over time,” he said.

The late Lamar Hunt was an early proponent of going international. The Chiefs have played preseason games in Japan, Mexico and Germany.A memorable preseason game took place in August 1990 when the Chiefs played the Los Angeles Rams at Olympic Stadium in West Berlin after the Berlin Wall fell and just before reunification. Media reports said there were 55,000 fans.

Growing an international fan base these days “is much easier to do now because of social media, because of the digital delivery of games,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said this week