Sports

Washington Commanders Owner Slams NFL For Lost Revenue From Playing A ‘Home Game’ In London

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NFL London Game Home Team Revenue Money Loss Washington Commanders Owner
iStockphoto / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris does not like that the NFL made his team play a “home game” in London. The financial breakdown of the International Series creates a fairly significant loss in revenue for whichever team is picked to host.

However, the fourth-year owner understands that it is a part of the business and his team is not the only one to be impacted.

Even if the NFL has a plan in place to keep things fair for all 32 teams, that does not mean it isn’t frustrating. Any game played away from home results in a loss of money.

The Washington Commanders played a “home game” in London.

When it comes to international games, the NFL tries to keep the process as fair as possible. It avoids assigning divisional rivalries as international games so that the teams do not lose a crucial home matchup at their own stadium. It also factors in teams that voluntarily agree to play abroad when they request a specific country with commercial interest and/or cultural ties. The league also tries to designate the home team from the conference that has nine regular-season games on the schedule in that specific year.

Under the 17-game format, the AFC and NFC alternate. NFC teams get to host nine regular-season home games in one year. The AFC gets to host nine regular-season home games in the next. They go back and forth every year.

With that in mind, the NFL selects whichever conference hosts nine home games to host an international game. That way every team still gets to host at least eight true home games at their true home stadium. For example, if the AFC has nine home games on its schedule, the AFC will then be designated as the home team for international games. Pretty simple.

This year is an NFC year. The Washington Commanders were the home team against the Indianapolis Colts in London on Sunday. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was wrapped in burgundy and gold with Commanders signage.

They got all of their standard pregame fanfare.

It just so happened that the crowd was also in favor of Washington.

Except it was not a home game. The game was still played in London.

NFL teams miss out on revenue.

A traditional home game is much more financially valuable to the organization. Teams typically keep ~66% of ticket sales and keep the majority of money generated from concessions, parking, premium seating and merchandise at their own stadiums.

That is not the case for international games. The NFL keeps a larger percentage across the board.

The league used to provide a stipend to the designated “home” team to compensate for the loss in revenue but that was eliminated in 2022. It still pays for travel and accommodations but the home team gives up most of its stadium-related income.

Commanders owner Josh Harris admitted that it is “not good.” However, he is not going to fight the NFL on its plan to grow the game beyond the United States and is willing to accept the circumstances for what they are.

Owners are forced to accept the league’s position that international games are a long-term investment. The goal is to expose the brand to new fans and to create a unique travel experience for existing fans. Harris is focused on the latter. He wants everyone to love Washington as much as he does, even if that means he misses out on some extra cash.