NFL Franchise in London? Why Not?

The National Football League (NFL) is the most popular professional sport in the United States. It is also a business. Like all successful businesses there a comes a time when global expansion needs to be considered and that’s exactly what is being done with the roll out of the NFL International Series,  which for the first time ever will feature three regular season games in London, England, spread over six weeks of the 2014-15 season.
 

Courtesy of MLive.com -Detroit

You might at first think this is a horrible idea. Why would people from a country that considers football a sport with a round ball and a net, find our version of the game interesting? The answer….reverse Beatle-mania. This time however, instead of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, think Peyton, Dez, Golden, and Ndamukong. Still don’t believe? Well based on a recent CNN article, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed this past February that all three games, 270,000 tickets in total, were completly sold out well in advance of the opening kickoff.  In fact, during this past Sunday’s game, Fox Sports Broadcasters Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman commented numerous times how the sellout crowd could be seen in jerseys representing all 32 NFL teams.

Lions fan from Scotland shows his team spirit.
Retrived from MLive.com - Detroit

They like the sport… now what?

Goodall has been quoted as saying that interest is so strong in London that the city could have its own team by the end of the decade. Additionally, several reports, including one from Adam Stites of SB Nation, discuss the possibly of the Jacksonville Jaguars picking up and moving to London. Owner Shad Khan, who already owns a London-based soccer team, is said to be enthralled with the idea of moving his franchise across the pond.  

In my mind, the answer is to not move an existing NFL team overseas but instead create a new expansion team for London. This new market, however would not be without several challenges right off the bat. During the Lions-Falcons game on Sunday, Aikman stated he didn’t think a London franchise would work given the jet lag visiting teams would face during their travels. Additionally, the Lions had to send Defensive Tackle CJ Mosley and Running Back William Powell home early for undisclosed infractions of team policy. Let’s face it, since the Ray Rice case earlier in the year, nobody has mistaken NFL players for boy scouts and being introduced to a new (yet similar) culture, could open the doors for additional infractions.  

On the other hand, NFL schedule makers can at times be real creative. For example, both the Lions and the Falcons were given bi-weeks for next week. Additionally, the four-hour time difference to London in some cases isn’t much worse than the Lions traveling to the west coast to play a conference foe. Who knows, a successful London franchise could open up doors for additional expansion, making the NFL a truly global sport.

 

References

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/26/sport/nfl-international-series-wembley/index.html

http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/10/29/5042796/mark-brunell-jaguars-london-relocation

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/22747067/shad-khan-jaguars-are-the-home-team-for-london

http://www.nfluk.com/

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2014/10/22/detroit-lions-london-william-powell/17708501/

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11760827/cj-mosley-suspended-detroit-lions-sent-back-us-london