Is An NFL Team in London Really Possible?
With this time of year being the NFL offseason, ideas like a team in London became the popular talking point for most football fans while they pass the summertime without games to watch.
The first ever NFL game played in London was in 2007, which was the start of a 15-year test to find out if London could support a team. We are now more than halfway there, and it seems that London could support its own team.
Every year at the end of the season, the NFL owners meet to discuss the season, what they can improve, what needs improved, what's working well and to discuss new ideas. A team in London has been a topic in this meeting for many years.
When interviewed recently, NFL Executive Vice President for International Mark Waller said, "There are still things we need to test for, so we have to be able to build a lot of things into the next few years. We don't need to prove as much on the fan-demand side. We feel comfortable that, in a few years, we'll be where we need to be there. The real focus is doing things to keep testing. We're really focusing on the logistical and operational side".
To sum up what he said, basically the NFL feels comfortable with the amount of fans that will watch and come to games in London. What they need to figure out is how it all will work. How do they prevent the home team from having an advantage when it will cost U.S. teams two days to get to the stadium rather than the normal 12 hours?
With the target for a team in London being 2022, they will spend these next few years trying to figure out these other questions and issues. Most of these questions are being aimed at the impact that a U.K. franchise would have on the competitive balance and how difficult easy things in the U.S. would be in the U.K.
The NFL usually has one game played there every year, but this coming game there are three games scheduled to be played in London. Having more games played in the U.K. will help them figure out how to fix the questions that surround playing in Britain.
This will be the fourth year that the Jacksonville Jaguars will play in London, sacrificing one of their eight home games to do so. The Jaguars also recently signed on to play in London through the year of 2020.
At the end of the 2016 season, around 24 teams will have played a game in London. The NFL is moving towards having a team overseas, and it's only a matter of time.
