LOS ANGELES >> The Los Angeles Chargers will play their 2025 season opener in Brazil, making the franchise the first to play on five continents, the NFL announced Wednesday.

The Chargers’ opponent is expected to be announced in May, when the NFL’s regular-season schedule is released.

The Chargers will be the home team for the Friday, Sept. 5 game at Neo Quimica Arena in São Paulo. The venue hosted a Week 1 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers last season in the first NFL game in South America.

Led by quarterback Justin Herbert, the Chargers finished 11-6 in 2024 in their first season under coach Jim Harbaugh before losing 32-12 to Houston in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

“It’s an honor to once again represent the NFL on an international stage,” said A.G. Spanos, the Chargers’ president of business operations. “It’s also a tremendous opportunity to help grow the game and bring the Chargers brand to millions of sports fans across Brazil and Latin America.”

Since 1976, the Chargers have played regular-season or preseason games in Mexico City, London, Tokyo, Berlin and Sydney.

The Chargers are scheduled to host AFC West rivals Denver, Kansas City and Las Vegas along with Houston, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh and Minnesota.

Since the Super Bowl champions usually get to open the following season at home, the league is unlikely to schedule the Eagles for back-to-back trips to South America, while the Colts and Steelers are already scheduled to be the designated hosts of their own international games.

NFL projects salary cap between $277.5M and $281.5M in 2025>> The NFL salary cap will be between $277.5 million and $281.5 million for the 2025 season, rising as much as $26 million from last year.

The bump is great news for Cincinnati, which is hoping to sign receiver Tee Higgins to a long-term contract. It also means more money for Minnesota to re-sign quarterback Sam Darnold or Kansas City to bring back guard Trey Smith or Super Bowl champion Philadelphia to keep linebacker Zack Baun.

It’s also significant for teams projected to be over the cap when the new league year begins in March: Atlanta, Seattle, Buffalo and Cleveland. It might not be enough to save New Orleans, which is more than $50 million over the projected cap and by far in the worst shape heading into 2025.

The salary cap was set at $255.4 million in 2024, up more than $30 million from the previous year.

Eagles promote Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator>> The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles have promoted Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator following the departure of Kellen Moore, the team announced Wednesday.

Patullo joined the Eagles’ staff as passing game coordinator in 2021 when coach Nick Sirianni was hired, and he became associate head coach in 2023.

Patullo takes over an offense that was second in the NFL in rushing under former coordinator Kellen Moore, who was hired as New Orleans’ head coach two days after the Eagles beat Kansas City in the Super Bowl.

“I can’t tell you that I make a decision without saying to Kevin first, ‘What do you think?’ That’s in everything. That’s in-game, out of game, with scheduling, that’s with offensive stuff, that’s with game-management stuff. I lean on him a lot,” Sirianni said.

Patullo’s first job in the NFL was as an offensive assistant and quality control coach with the Chiefs in 2007. He also worked for Buffalo, Tennessee, the New York Jets and Indianapolis before he joined the Eagles.