Opinion: An International NFL Franchise would not work
After Germany became the fifth country to host an NFL regular season game this November, questions about the league's international future are again popping up.
In the last 15 years, 33 games, and all 32 teams have been played outside of the United States, with the league's international reputation only growing stronger.
For years, there has been speculation about a possible international expansion, which Roger Goodell, the NFL's commissioner, only fuelled during a recent trip to London.
“I think there’s no question that London could support not just one franchise, I think two franchises, I really believe that.
We’re trying to see if you could have multiple locations in Europe where you could have an NFL franchise…because it would be easier as a division.”
There’s no doubt there’s a huge desire for the game internationally, especially in Europe, and while I feel it may be possible, I do not believe an international franchise is a good idea for the league.
According to the NFL, over 14 million people in the United Kingdom ‘enjoy watching the sport’, with 4 million of them being ‘avid’ fans.
While those figures may seem to be exaggerated, there is no doubt that there is a demand. When tickets for the game in Munich went on sale, 800,000 people were in the queue simultaneously.
Ticketmaster believe that three million tickets could have been sold for that game, whilst the league also broke its attendance records at both Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium this year.
However, the amount of effort required by the teams just to play a one-off game in Europe is absolutely absurd.
The teams send big shipments over the pond, months before they are due to play in London, just to get everything exactly as it would be in the States, regardless of whether they are the 'home' or 'away' side.
When playing in Europe, the franchises have a very stressful couple of weeks adjusting and then re-adjusting to time differences, making it sensible to have a bye week after the game.
But if there were to be an international team, it would be a massive inconvenience for the league to have every team having a bye afterwards. What would the international team do when coming back from every away game?
Home primetime games would also be impossible, as there's no way you'd get away with hosting an event in the early hours of the morning at Tottenham or Wembley. The same can be said for home playoff games.
You’ve then got the biggest issue the league would face if they were to expand into Europe, the fact that the fans of the sport already have teams.
The majority of fans who attend International Series games are there for the sport, not the teams, as evidenced by the variety of jerseys on display. Each of the 32 teams is represented. Fans are unlikely to switch teams, regardless of how hard the league tries.
Beginning in 2013, the Jacksonville Jaguars have committed to playing a home game at Wembley every season, and out of anyone would be the most likely team to move internationally.
Shahid Khan, who also owns Premier League club Fulham, even controversially attempted to buy Wembley Stadium from the FA in 2018.
However hard the Jaguars, who have done excellent work to grow the sport in this country, try to market here, they are still not the 'UK's team.
According to a recent YouGov poll, they are the 19th most popular team in the country, with their opponent from last year’s game, the Miami Dolphins, being the most popular franchise in the UK.
If there were an international team, the stadium would likely be packed with away fans. This is evident in Los Angeles, as both the Chargers and Rams fans are outnumbered at home on a regular basis.
It may be the same for Khan’s Jaguars, as there were more Denver Broncos fans at their ‘home game’ at Wembley earlier this year.
I took to Twitter earlier this week, to see what fans would do if a team was to pop up here or move across the pond.
Only 8.7% of fans would change teams, whilst 18.8% would support both their current and whatever the international team would be.
What’s more striking is the fact that a whopping 72.5% of people would remain fans of their current team. Something I’m sure the league do not want to hear.
Right now, what we’ve got as fans from Europe is perfect. A flurry of different teams taking it in turns to play a game internationally. It’s fresh, it works.
More games, perhaps 8 between the UK and Germany in a season, are a huge possibility as all four games this year were sold out.
One thing I’m sure of is the fact that neither the NFL nor its fans from Europe really want an international franchise.