The NFL has announced the Bucs will travel to London next season to take on the Patriots.

The game, slated for Oct. 25 at Wembley Stadium, will be the Bucs' first venture outside the country since a preseason contest in Tokyo in 2003.

The NFL has been trying to expand its reach globally evidenced by games being played in London this season and in 2007.

"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization is extremely excited and honored to be chosen to participate in the NFL International Series," Bucs executive vice president Joel Glazer said in a statement released by the team.

"We look forward to being part of the NFL's global outreach and playing our great game in front of Buccaneers fans overseas."

The Bucs have ties to the U.K. because of the Glazer family's ownership of soccer club Manchester United, one of the premier teams in the world.

One of the byproducts of this move is that the Bucs will lose a home game and the revenue that stems from it. But the NFL takes that into account when scheduling these games and the losses will be accounted for. The Patriots will be unaffected because they are the visiting team and will keep their full slate of home dates.

We hope to get more details when general manager Bruce Allen speaks with the media at 1:30 p.m.