International Series and London Franchise

[Big-T]

=Not sure about the "World Bowl" idea... the NFL would have little to gain and everything to lose in that scenario. What if the SB champion loses?

Goodell could proudly claim "look at the increased number of elite players that now play the game due to our expansion" etc etc.

 

[everlong]

If you're going to continue with the international series Mexico City did really well with the 49ers vs Cardinals and the Japanese seem obsessed with most things American so I could see a game in Tokyo.

I can't see a permanent team in London but I think you would have to break that team's schedule into quarters where they play 4 home, 4 away, 4 home and 4 away, or the reverse starting with away. I think at a minimum you would go two straight either home or away.

At the end of the day the NFL in Europe is going to be like soccer in the US for the foreseeable future. A nice fringe sport. That's fine when you look at the MLS payroll but putting an NFL team in Europe with that pay structure would be like putting a Boston entry into the English Premier league.

 

[Avenger]

The NFL Europe lost 20 million a year combined, thats less than many QBs are making, player development alone I think is worth that is $625,000 per NFL team

 

[resdubwhite]

They'd have to put big money (same as NFL franchises) behind that to be competitive enough for this to make sense. Prior attempts at getting NFL Europe off the ground showed insufficient support among the natives.

A different era perhaps.

I don't think financially it would work.

but the game is very strong in UK/Germany/parts of Scandinavia.

An entire league incorporating the rest of Europe may struggle to get support.

 

[Big-T]

I think if the current teams in Britain would get a lot more people going to games if they had both of the following:

More funding
Better facilities.

A lot of the teams have Rugby/Soccer stadiums nearby that may be able to strike a deal with, if the NFL got involved and equipped the teams properly and gave them better unis and actually helped with coaching the coaches then the game would be a more attractive proposition, NFL funding could also make it so players don't actually have to pay to play the game for a team.

It wouldn't cost the NFL too much to do that and it would help them in the future with potential players coming through - there's already a few Brits in the NFL (the Raiders alone have 2 players + a coach).

Doing similar things in Germany etc would also reap the rewards down the line.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Doing similar things in Germany etc would also reap the rewards down the line.

NOOOOO!

All their Seabass (Seabaß) are belong to us!

 

[Username]

I don't think a London franchise would work for a number of reasons.

1) The majority of fans who attend these games aren't from London. They're fans from all over Europe. It's not feasible for them to travel to London every other week.

2) All these fans already support a team. The vast majority of them aren't going to turn their backs on their team to support a new London franchise (hate that word in a sporting context). Maybe a small proportion of London based fans would, but other than that the NFL would have to attract a whole new fan base to the sport.

I think a NFL Europe league may work, but on a smaller scale. Don't try to fill 80k seater stadiums, aim for 20-30k seater stadiums and work from there.

 

[resdubwhite]

I think a NFL Europe league may work, but on a smaller scale. Don't try to fill 80k seater stadiums, aim for 20-30k seater stadiums and work from there.

Would the English and French teams start *****ing and setup their own competition when the Irish and Welsh teams continue to beat them week in week out?

 

[Username]

Would the English and French teams start *****ing and setup their own competition when the Irish and Welsh teams continue to beat them week in week out?

Probably. And the English media will claim it's not fair and the rest of us have an unfair advantage while they give eligibilty to any southern hemisphere player to lift their skirt

 

[italian pat patriot]

american football is american football; I am absolutely opposed to a fixed franchise based in London but I think 2 times / year in Europe can be a positive factor - although not to the exclusivity of these games in London, I think it could be one there and another in rotation in other countries (Germany, France, Italy, etc)

1 game in Mexico and/or Canada would be nice too

but not more

i love the NFL as an Usa sport

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

This idea needs to wait 20 years until Elon Musk (SpaceX), Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic) or Skylon gets their 60 minutes to anywhere charter flight services going.

 

[Big-T]

This idea needs to wait 20 years until Elon Musk (SpaceX), Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic) or Skylon gets their 60 minutes to anywhere charter flight services going.

It would have been less of a problem if Concorde didn't get retired!

Although seeing guys the size of NFL players fit in that thing would have been a sight to behold! It wouldn't have been comfortable for them to say the least.

But, it was so it looks like waiting for the technologies you mentioned to be ready for fast flight over the Atlantic.

 

[SB39]

Establish a Euro league.

Then, each year, have their SB winner play the American SB winner in a "World Series" (one game).

The NFL would make more on that, and it is a far better idea than the disastrous 18 game season - - maybe it would get the owners to finally shut up about that.

Yeah. Sure. Take the single most popular annual sporting event on the planet, the Super Bowl, and water it down so that it is only a semi-final, culminating in a "World Series" than no one gave a darn about. :bricks:

 

[Batman]

I'm good with Dublin.


And If the pats get to play there I could at least put up 3 or 4 of you guys.......

its a win win....

Stade DeFrance would be fantastic also.

I'd be happy if they came to murryfield I could certainly put people up. If it happened but London is still cheaper than Miami and can be done in 1 day for me.

 

[FoxWhiskey]

I don´t think, a franchise in London will work.

Now, with only 2 or 3 games a year, the fans come all across europe to London.
And it´s expensive. The costs for the weekend are between 500-750$( flights, hotel, tickets, sightseeing).
And that every week with a franchise, i really doubt it.

And EuroLeague? Really?

A short view from the inside of german football:

Rules: NCAA
The first league German Football League have 2 division: North and South
The south division is, usually, the weaker division, from the financial aspect to the terms of performance(but the last 2 championships went to a team from the south).
The teams have a budget between 225k(south) and 1,2million$(north-only 1team-usually about 300k-450k$ in the north) a year.
Visitors: 70-5000
Every german player have to work, studying or something else.
Every german player sacrifies a lot of money and time and health for this game

My hometown team DRESDEN MONARCHS( division north) is:
-one of richest clubs, with an average budget 450k$
-the team with the 2nd or 3rd highest counts of visitors- 2,2k people
-one of only 2 teams, which have livestreams(fan-projects-RADIO MONARCHS)
- the only team, that have a own training area( maybe i post pictures later, but don´t be shocked)

All Teams in Germany depends of the impact of their US-Players( mostly QB,RB,LB, DB).

For example:
My team have, this year, the best RB in the history of the GFL:
Trevar Deed- former Delta State RB. He owns 54 of total 84 TDs-50 rush TD+ 4 pass TD
In 16 games he rushed for 3431yd( 215 yd/game average)+ 514yd receiving+ 449yd in the return game.

This guy is the reason, why the Dresden Monarchs will play this year in the Championshipgame -German Bowl.

 

[resdubwhite]

I'd be happy if they came to murryfield I could certainly put people up. If it happened but London is still cheaper than Miami and can be done in 1 day for me.

Murrayfield would be epic also. Slightly too small though. capacity wise.

 

[Mike the Brit]

1. The difficulties with a London franchise are huge -- not just the obvious one (travel) but also legal and financial.

2. Why do they want it anyway? If they really want a more profitable location than Jacksonville, they can have it with a lot less effort (LA).

3. The answer to (2) can only be because they want to internationalize the game for the sake of advertisers and sponsors. If companies sponsor soccer or Formula 1 they get a globabl reach. The NFL is stuck with brands that are focused on the U.S.

4. BUT ...

There are a load of ways to popularize the NFL abroad without putting a franchise in London.

Review the foreign TV. Make sure it has a wide reach. Sponsor programming surrounding the games (TV documentaries aimed at foreign audiences, and so on). Think about pricing and availability for streaming. Consider organizing tours to bring overseas fans on trips to watch games in the U.S. (why else would anyone from outside choose to visit Cleveland or Buffalo? ) In other words, don't dilute the American element but use it -- believe me, for most non-U.S. football fans it's a big part of the attraction.

5. It's really hard to believe that a group of such successful businessmen are so determined to be idiots.

 

[borg]

For east coast teams.....a 5 hour flight to the left...a 5 hour flight to the right.....big freaking deal. And those poor suffering west coast teams whose players are cashing their million dollar checks each week....they would have to fly to London once every six to eight years. (Brady has never played in SF ....missed 2008) What an inconvenience!! Give the players a choice....first class flights to London or fryalotor duty at Micky Ds. Here's a thought...the NFL schedule makers could factor in the bye weeks around these transatlantic trips.
No doubt playing on the London team would be less than ideal, but here's the thing....there's free choice. Play on the team that drafted you or move on with your life. There would be $140 million to be divvied up every year in London for those that could handle living in one of the greatest cities in the world. Sounds too horrible.
NBC just paid the English Premier League something like $400 million to televise British soccer into a country that already has 4 major sports. You can see why the NFL wants to tap into Great Brittain/Europe and their 400 million population that spends their sports dollars on one professional sport.
In my mind, the real question is not "should the NFL expand into London"....but instead...what kind of roster must the NFL engineer that would maximize attention in England? Any player come to mind that is worthy of international attention, page 2 and back page headlines, transcends the sport. Any couple come to mind that could match the sizzle that the Beckhams brought to the states and MLS?
That London Fog trench coat with the flair collar a certain marquis player sports at post game pressers would look quite refined on any pitch in London...don't you think?

 

[Tunescribe]

For east coast teams.....a 5 hour flight to the left...a 5 hour flight to the right.....big freaking deal. And those poor suffering west coast teams whose players are cashing their million dollar checks each week....they would have to fly to London once every six to eight years. (Brady has never played in SF ....missed 2008) What an inconvenience!! Give the players a choice....first class flights to London or fryalotor duty at Micky Ds. Here's a thought...the NFL schedule makers could factor in the bye weeks around these transatlantic trips.
No doubt playing on the London team would be less than ideal, but here's the thing....there's free choice. Play on the team that drafted you or move on with your life. There would be $140 million to be divvied up every year in London for those that could handle living in one of the greatest cities in the world. Sounds too horrible.
NBC just paid the English Premier League something like $400 million to televise British soccer into a country that already has 4 major sports. You can see why the NFL wants to tap into Great Brittain/Europe and their 400 million population that spends their sports dollars on one professional sport.
In my mind, the real question is not "should the NFL expand into London"....but instead...what kind of roster must the NFL engineer that would maximize attention in England? Any player come to mind that is worthy of international attention, page 2 and back page headlines, transcends the sport. Any couple come to mind that could match the sizzle that the Beckhams brought to the states and MLS?
That London Fog trench coat with the flair collar a certain marquis player sports at post game pressers would look quite refined on any pitch in London...don't you think?

Tim Tebow finally has a girlfriend? When did this happen?

 

[borg]

Tim Tebow finally has a girlfriend? When did this happen?

Tebow is being saved for the Roma Spartans

PS.........16 NFL teams play in the eastern time zone...and last I heard, not one player retired due to the fact that twice a year their team had to travel 3 time zones to the left coast to play football. The distance argument is horse crap. Even for the London players. Three trips to the US each season (road trips of 3,3, and 2 games)....most games on the east coast...pleeeeease.
SD and Seattle each play in the eastern time zone 4 times this year. Guess those retirement papers got lost