The European stretch of National Football League (NFL) games kicked off last week with the Jacksonville Jaguars versus the Atlanta Falcons in London. This begs the question of what the NFL’s goals are regarding the growth of American football in Europe.
This was the 16th year that the NFL has played a game in London and this will be the second year they will play a game in Germany. It seems the NFL’s goal is to have multiple professional football teams in Europe, and right now they are testing out different markets for those teams: like London, Munich (last year), and Frankfurt (this year).
During a press conference before the London games in 2022, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell insisted that “there’s no question that London could support not just one franchise; I think two franchises. I really believe that.”
Clearly the NFL has been preparing for teams in London. Both Wembley and the Tottenham Spurs stadium were built to hold NFL games. So based on what Goodell said, London could have two teams playing in both stadiums. However, all NFL divisions have four teams, and having only two European teams could make it quite tricky to integrate them into the league.
According to Goodell, the NFL has been testing out multiple locations in Europe. That’s a big reason for the Germany games. As Goodell said during that same 2022 press conference, “We’re trying to see, could you have multiple locations in Europe where you could have an NFL franchise because it would be easier as a division.”
With a true European division, it would be easier for all four European teams to play against each other and make the trip to the United States when need be. However, while this would still help, the scheduling, flight time, and distance from the US could hinder these European teams from signing and drafting players. It would also be a hard choice for all Americans, who make up most of the NFL population, to move across the world. That might take a toll on their mental health and hinder their overall performance.
Yet while this is an initial problem, it might become less relevant over time. As American football would naturally grow in Europe, more Europeans might want to play the game. This new crop of players would not have to move across the Atlantic to do so.
Despite Goodell’s optimism regarding the expansion of American football to Europe, it will not be easy. It will take time to organize and find the right cities to expand to. However, the NFL has worked for over a decade to build their game in London and now Germany. Soon they may very well have the traction to create a European division.
“Wembley: NFL International Series” by Gaspa is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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