GAA President Larry McCarthy is optimistic about hosting a Pittsburgh Steelers NFL game at Croke Park by 2028.
The Steelers have been granted rights to expand their brand and activities in Ireland as part of the NFL's Global Markets Program.
They previously faced Chicago Bears at Croke Park in a 1997 pre-season game - still the only NFL game to ever be played in Ireland.
Kordell Stewart, who played in that game for The Steelers, was back at Croke Park for the announcement of the five-year rights deal which is expected to see the franchise push hard to penetrate the Irish market.
McCarthy's expectation is that within the timeframe of that deal, a pre-season or full NFL season fixture will be held at Croke Park.
"This is the start of a dance," said McCarthy of the link up. "Have they said that there's going to be a game here? No. We hope that there will be one, yeah. And it would be here, as opposed to anywhere else. Think about it, just from their perspective, they'll get 82,000 people in here. I'm not exactly sure how many they'd get in the Aviva, 42 or 43,000, whatever the number is.
"It makes a lot more economic sense for them to come here than it does to a smaller stadium, particularly if they can sell it out."
The 1997 game was made possible by the Steelers' late chairman Dan Rooney who had strong ties with Ireland and who served as the US ambassador here between 2009 and 2012.
On the latest development, McCarthy said it is 'essentially a partnership' and explained that The Steelers may use Croke Park at first for 'any business they're going to do here in Ireland'.
This could involve 'watch parties and stuff like that, the low-hanging fruit in terms of what they'll hone in on here'.
McCarthy said that there will be no financial benefit for the GAA initially at least.
"I don't think so, the ultimate reward would be in having a game here, not just for us but for the city and the country," he said.
"You heard the number of 40,000 flying in for the Notre Dame college game. I'm not so sure you'd get 40,000 people flying in for a Steelers game but you certainly would get that many people travelling perhaps from Europe and the US as well. The ultimate financial reward is to have a game here and it would work in the context of the GAA club and inter-county season because the NFL is a Fall season, so it would work here in that context."
McCarthy said the link up with a US sports club could be useful in the future for any games or exhibitions there. The GAA has staged Super 11s hurling games in the US in the past.
But he poured cold water on the suggestion that an International Rules game could be held there, saying the field would be too small for starters and also revealing that the hybrid game is off the agenda 'for the foreseeable future'.
"At the moment, it is off the table," he said. "They (AFL) haven't been requesting it and I visited with them when I was at the Australasian games when I was in Melbourne in October. We agreed that it's not going to happen in the short-term but it's not obviously dead either."
Daniel Rooney, Director of Business Development and Strategy for The Steelers, described the specific link up with Ireland as a 'unique opportunity' for the club.
"It allows an NFL team to treat that country like it's a home market," said Rooney. "It's as if we're back in Pittsburgh, we can do sponsorship deals, we can market, we can host live events, do media work, so it's a unique opportunity that not only allows us to commercialise but to really grow our sport and our brand.
"We're going to try to reach all 32 counties, that's our goal. We'll be working with groups like the GAA and others."