“IF WE CONTINUE to grow, I do think a franchise will be international at some point in time. I think Europe is the most likely [place], for a lot of reasons. One, the length of time we’ve been playing there. But also, the scheduling is going to be a lot easier.”
Those were the words of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as he opened the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium ahead of their week two clash with the Detroit Lions.
Goodell has long been open about his desire — and, indeed, that of the 32 NFL owners — for international expansion. And not just in words. This year, the league will play nine international games, and potentially 10 next season. In fact, few fans would be surprised if we see an entire week of international games in the near future, perhaps as part of an 18-week season.
And it’s easy to see why the league wants to do this: money.
The thirst for NFL regular season games in their home city remains unquenched among international fans. Some 19 years after the Giants and Dolphins played the first game in Wembley, the NFL has put on a further 53 international games in eight countries, including last season in Ireland.
In most cases, the stadiums are packed while domestic viewership of international games has also increased by more than 30%, so the novelty of early kickoffs has not worn off.
Teams that could relocate to Europe?
While every NFL team has played at least one international game, the Jacksonville Jaguars (14) have been involved in more than twice the number of games as the Dolphins (7) and Vikings (6,) who sit second and third on the list. Little wonder then that it is often Jacksonville – whose owner, Shahid Khan, is also the owner of Premier League side Fulham – that gets mentioned when people ask which team is the most likely to up sticks and relocate to Europe.
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The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the 2024 clash of the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars. Alamy Stock Photo
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If you’ve ever been to Jacksonville, it’s pretty easy to understand the temptation to depart. However, the Jags are undergoing a $1.4 billion (€1.22 billion) renovation of their Everbank Stadium to transform it into the ‘Stadium of the Future’. Because of these works, the Jags will have to play the entirety of the 2027 season outside of Jacksonville and, were they to be in the running for changing cities, you’d think that would be the perfect excuse to set up temporary home in London.
But no, they will play in Orlando instead, with Kahn bluntly telling Talksport last year that it “doesn’t make sense” to base themselves in London.
So if not the Jags, then maybe one of the less supported teams. The Bears had the lowest home attendance last season, averaging just over 58,000 fans per game. The Packers are by far the smallest market in the NFL, with 100,000 residents of Green Bay and fewer than 500,000 TV viewers for their games. But it seems very unlikely that either storied franchise would be allowed to move by some of the most passionate fans in the league.
Globetrotters
That said, we know from the Raiders highly controversial move from Oakland in recent years that the NFL is not afraid of upsetting its own fans. However, expansion abroad brings a new set of headaches. Not only would the league, players and coaches have to navigate the complexities of jet lag and international tax law, but there are more basic challenges too.
What if players don’t want to move to the international team? What if the new team is worse than the Browns or Titans and nobody wants to go see them? In fact, will NFL fans, who so often wear their favourite team’s jersey to the international games regardless of who is playing, swap out that fandom for a new ‘local’ team.
Ultimately, Goodell wants to reduce those risks by having an entire international division. In the meantime there’s a world, a worse one, where the international team has no ‘home’ stadium, and plays half its games in the UK, Germany, Spain, France, etc, and half of them in the US.
And while that raises huge questions about fairness and competitiveness within the league, it also raises profits. Ultimately, that will trump any other concerns the league may have.
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The NFL say a European team is 'likely', but is it a good idea?
“IF WE CONTINUE to grow, I do think a franchise will be international at some point in time. I think Europe is the most likely [place], for a lot of reasons. One, the length of time we’ve been playing there. But also, the scheduling is going to be a lot easier.”
Those were the words of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as he opened the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium ahead of their week two clash with the Detroit Lions.
Goodell has long been open about his desire — and, indeed, that of the 32 NFL owners — for international expansion. And not just in words. This year, the league will play nine international games, and potentially 10 next season. In fact, few fans would be surprised if we see an entire week of international games in the near future, perhaps as part of an 18-week season.
And it’s easy to see why the league wants to do this: money.
The thirst for NFL regular season games in their home city remains unquenched among international fans. Some 19 years after the Giants and Dolphins played the first game in Wembley, the NFL has put on a further 53 international games in eight countries, including last season in Ireland.
In most cases, the stadiums are packed while domestic viewership of international games has also increased by more than 30%, so the novelty of early kickoffs has not worn off.
Teams that could relocate to Europe?
While every NFL team has played at least one international game, the Jacksonville Jaguars (14) have been involved in more than twice the number of games as the Dolphins (7) and Vikings (6,) who sit second and third on the list. Little wonder then that it is often Jacksonville – whose owner, Shahid Khan, is also the owner of Premier League side Fulham – that gets mentioned when people ask which team is the most likely to up sticks and relocate to Europe.
If you’ve ever been to Jacksonville, it’s pretty easy to understand the temptation to depart. However, the Jags are undergoing a $1.4 billion (€1.22 billion) renovation of their Everbank Stadium to transform it into the ‘Stadium of the Future’. Because of these works, the Jags will have to play the entirety of the 2027 season outside of Jacksonville and, were they to be in the running for changing cities, you’d think that would be the perfect excuse to set up temporary home in London.
But no, they will play in Orlando instead, with Kahn bluntly telling Talksport last year that it “doesn’t make sense” to base themselves in London.
So if not the Jags, then maybe one of the less supported teams. The Bears had the lowest home attendance last season, averaging just over 58,000 fans per game. The Packers are by far the smallest market in the NFL, with 100,000 residents of Green Bay and fewer than 500,000 TV viewers for their games. But it seems very unlikely that either storied franchise would be allowed to move by some of the most passionate fans in the league.
Globetrotters
That said, we know from the Raiders highly controversial move from Oakland in recent years that the NFL is not afraid of upsetting its own fans. However, expansion abroad brings a new set of headaches. Not only would the league, players and coaches have to navigate the complexities of jet lag and international tax law, but there are more basic challenges too.
What if players don’t want to move to the international team? What if the new team is worse than the Browns or Titans and nobody wants to go see them? In fact, will NFL fans, who so often wear their favourite team’s jersey to the international games regardless of who is playing, swap out that fandom for a new ‘local’ team.
Ultimately, Goodell wants to reduce those risks by having an entire international division. In the meantime there’s a world, a worse one, where the international team has no ‘home’ stadium, and plays half its games in the UK, Germany, Spain, France, etc, and half of them in the US.
And while that raises huge questions about fairness and competitiveness within the league, it also raises profits. Ultimately, that will trump any other concerns the league may have.
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