NFL eyeing vital expansions to Europe, Mexico schedule
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the NFL’s efforts to develop its foreign-soil footprint, however after this season’s five-game docket, the league will look to maneuver additional on this entrance.
Few issues are extra essential to high-ranking NFL officers than the growth of the league’s Europe and Mexico efforts, Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post notes. This can seemingly imply strikes to not less than double the league’s Germany and Mexico schedules, whereas the potential for a significant England growth stays on the radar.
The prospect of moving a team to London has died down, although Roger Goodell didn’t shoot down the notion there may at some point be two European-based franchises at some point. For now, nevertheless, La Canfora provides the idea of a “London Season Ticket” — which might function eight video games at numerous venues all through the nation — is on the radar. The NFL, which is enjoying video games at 4 non-American venues this season, additionally continues to discover the opportunity of enjoying a recreation in Brazil.
Previous to the format for the NFL’s seventeenth recreation being unveiled, a report indicated the league would push for 16 overseas games to give every team eight house video games, eight street video games and one neutral-site tilt. That has not but come to fruition, and transferring from 5 abroad video games to almost that might be an excessive step. The bridge to that actuality may additionally develop into sophisticated. Stated bridge may be coming by 2024, with one high-ranking supply informing La Canfora there’ll seemingly be greater than 5 non-American video games by that time.
This yr, 5 groups misplaced house video games due to London, Germany or Mexico assignments. If extra foreign-soil video games are coming in two years, a situation by which almost half the groups in a convention are docked a house contest enters the equation. Whereas the benefit gained by the groups that aren’t compelled to make such a concession could be minimal, the seven-team playoff bracket rewarding one bye per convention makes such issues extra essential.
Goodell entertained the concept of a European division when posed that query. The longtime commissioner indicated the aim of figuring out whether or not a number of cities in Europe may home NFL franchises stays. We appear an extended methods off from that changing into a severe risk, and the NFL has not expanded nor realigned its divisions since 2002. However Goodell’s regime has refused to let the fact of overseas-stationed groups fade.
“That’s a part of what we’re doing, proper?” Goodell mentioned, via Sky Sports. “We’re attempting to see ‘May you will have a number of areas in Europe the place you may have an NFL franchise?,’ as a result of it will be simpler as a division.”