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It’s no secret that the NFL is continuing to try to go its presence in European markets. In fact, the league has had great success doing so. The league began its international series in London in 2007 and has only continued to expand since.
This year, three regular season games will be played in London (with two already played), and yet another will be played in Munich. The game between the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the first NFL game in history to be played in Germany.
The league has already scheduled future games to be played in Germany. The venues with be split between Munich and Frankfurt.
The ultimate goal was always to one day put an NFL team in London. But could we see more? NFL commissioner recently discussed the idea of an entire NFL division being based in Europe.
Roger Goodell Floats Idea Of NFL Europe Division In England And Germany
One of the biggest barriers to putting an NFL team in London is the travel demands. The team would have to play eight or even nine regular season games overseas. Though they’d also have a huge advantage while playing home games against teams from the US.
Owen Poindexter of Front Office Sports reports that Goodell recently suggested a potential solution to these problems.
Goodell appears open to adding several teams on the continent.
“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.”
The addition of four European teams would help solve the logistic issues. But the idea doesn’t seem particularly feasible with regard to team-building. The league could not sustain four expansion drafts and it’s unlikely that multiple, or any, teams move from the US to Europe.
So while Goodell’s not wrong in saying that it would be easier, it’s hard to see how it could ever really happen.