NFL: First International NFL Franchise

[Jets4Life]

I've heard rumors that the NFL is pursuing expansion teams outside the continental USA. If this is the case, who would be the favorite in the running for one?

I've heard the NFL was eyeing London, England. They also are considering a team in Mexico City and somewhere in Germany. Toronto is on the radar.

I imagine teams in London and Germany would work, given the popularity of American football in Europe, especially Germany. Mexico City? It's a 3rd world country, with an unstable political situation.

If Toronto were to construct an 80,000 football stadium, I would imagine they would have to be considered favorites, due to the massive popularity of American football going back over a century. The city has given up on the CFL, and there could be a ticket waiting list of well over 200,000.

Is it time to make Toronto the next city to have teams in all 4 "big" leagues?

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[No Fun Shogun]

Toronto is always at risk of Ottawa passing a protectionist Canadian Football Act to save the CFL, though. I'm not remotely opposed to a Canadian team or two or three in the NFL, but I don't really think that Toronto is high on the NFL's radar, all things being considered.

 

[keonsbitterness]

I'll go with never. There's something in it for the NFL to have foreign games but there's nothing in it for the NFL to have foreign teams.

 

[Terry Yake]

i could maybe see toronto one day

putting a team in europe is just not logical for travel reasons alone

 

[GKJ]

Toronto will support an NFL team so long as it is a Toronto team and not the Bills trying to lurch off the market. Although I bet that would go better if they tried it again since the Bills are good now.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Don’t see it happening unless in a big Canadian city or Mexico City. Nothing across the pond.

 

[Voight]

London will never work.

Toronto would do great with an NFL team. Theres a ton of football fans in the city/general area and its a logical step for a major global city.

 

[Bluto]

Mexico City is probably the most likely. Only problem would be getting players to want to go there. Also security for the players would be a huge concern. But the ferver is there and the whole country would support the team. Maybe that, in and of itself, would keep the players safe.
I have a feeling the CFL would lobby hard to keep the NFL out of Canada. Quite frankly, if the NFL came to Canada, it would be the final nail in the coffin for the CFL. As a fan of the CFL, I hope it doesn't happen. The CFL should consider that merger with the XFL and then put teams in markets that the NFL screwed over like San Diego, San Antonio, and St. Louis.

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

Mexico City is probably the most likely. Only problem would be getting players to want to go there. Also security for the players would be a huge concern. But the ferver is there and the whole country would support the team. Maybe that, in and of itself, would keep the players safe.
I have a feeling the CFL would lobby hard to keep the NFL out of Canada. Quite frankly, if the NFL came to Canada, it would be the final nail in the coffin for the CFL. As a fan of the CFL, I hope it doesn't happen. The CFL should consider that merger with the XFL and then put teams in markets that the NFL screwed over like San Diego, San Antonio, and St. Louis.

I highly doubt it. Canadians could easily cross the boarder before and go to NFL games. I highly doubt Torontians would be interested in a team, when most are already loyal to some other team. Be it the Steelers, Lions, Bill's. Yes you do have bandwagon jumpers, but usually the team has to win in order to jump on the bandwagon.

Let's pump the brakes on the XFL. I highly doubt that a league that has failed twice already, will somehow become popular the third time.

 

[Bluto]

I highly doubt it. Canadians could easily cross the boarder before and go to NFL games. I highly doubt Torontians would be interested in a team, when most are already loyal to some other team. Be it the Steelers, Lions, Bill's. Yes you do have bandwagon jumpers, but usually the team has to win in order to jump on the bandwagon.

Let's pump the brakes on the XFL. I highly doubt that a league that has failed twice already, will somehow become popular the third time.

The xfl won’t ever work.
But the cfl in the usa could. The sport is different enough to have that novelty factor and the league is legitimate and has history. It would solve the ‘my spring football’ demand problem. Just don’t put the cfl franchises in nfl cities.

None of this will ever happen though. I’m just being overly…. Optimistic? Idk. I’ll be surprised if the cfl hasn’t folded by 2030 at this point. It’s just a pipe dream. I’d love for the CFL to have a good product and a following in the usa.

 

[Voight]

Mexico City is probably the most likely. Only problem would be getting players to want to go there. Also security for the players would be a huge concern. But the ferver is there and the whole country would support the team. Maybe that, in and of itself, would keep the players safe.
I have a feeling the CFL would lobby hard to keep the NFL out of Canada. Quite frankly, if the NFL came to Canada, it would be the final nail in the coffin for the CFL. As a fan of the CFL, I hope it doesn't happen. The CFL should consider that merger with the XFL and then put teams in markets that the NFL screwed over like San Diego, San Antonio, and St. Louis.

Good riddance. CFL folding would hardly be a tragedy.

I highly doubt it. Canadians could easily cross the boarder before and go to NFL games. I highly doubt Torontians would be interested in a team, when most are already loyal to some other team. Be it the Steelers, Lions, Bill's. Yes you do have bandwagon jumpers, but usually the team has to win in order to jump on the bandwagon.

Let's pump the brakes on the XFL. I highly doubt that a league that has failed twice already, will somehow become popular the third time.

I mean, Vegas/Seattle had fans of other teams before they got NHL teams.

 

[Bluto]

Good riddance. CFL folding would hardly be a tragedy.

I’d be sad. I love the CFL. The Canadian game is entertaining. It’d be sad to see the death of an entire sport because once the cfl is gone, that’s the end of organized 12 a side 3 down football.

 

[Voight]

I’d be sad. I love the CFL. The Canadian game is entertaining. It’d be sad to see the death of an entire sport because once the cfl is gone, that’s the end of organized 12 a side 3 down football.

Honestly, I find it really boring. All football fans I know in Canada are NFL guys, none really care for the CFL.

To be blunt its basically a league of cast offs, has beens and retreads.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

CFL is a joke, Argoes should go somewhere that may actually care. Toronto imo should be in the NFL. they are the only Canadian team in the MLB and NBA I dont see how we couldn't support an NFL team.
Maybe if we got a team I might actually care about football. the sport looks fun but I dunno who do you cheer for?

 

[alko]

Can you image a bunch of testosterone pumped NFL players in Mexico bars?

 

[TheAngryHank]

Mexico City is probably the most likely. Only problem would be getting players to want to go there. Also security for the players would be a huge concern. But the ferver is there and the whole country would support the team. Maybe that, in and of itself, would keep the players safe.
I have a feeling the CFL would lobby hard to keep the NFL out of Canada. Quite frankly, if the NFL came to Canada, it would be the final nail in the coffin for the CFL. As a fan of the CFL, I hope it doesn't happen. The CFL should consider that merger with the XFL and then put teams in markets that the NFL screwed over like San Diego, San Antonio, and St. Louis.

I think the 10k feet in elevation would be a problem, people already feel Denver has home advantage and is only 5k.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

I just never understood the NFL trying to appeal it's sport in Europe.

It always seems forced. Has popularity of the NFL gone up with Europeans?

 

[GKJ]

I just never understood the NFL trying to appeal it's sport in Europe.

It always seems forced. Has popularity of the NFL gone up with Europeans?

Yes.

 

[BruinsFan37]

With a one-game a week schedule the NFL is one of the few leagues that could possibly make a Trans-Atlantic team (i.e. London/Berlin/etc.) work.

Heck in 2019 London hosted four games (half an NFL teams season), with the teams that went showing little to no negative effect from the Trans-Atlantic trip the following week

If the one-off games seem to have little impact of a teams play, then with sensible scheduling (i.e. 4 home, 4 away, repeat), there is little reason why a London team couldn't work from a logistical standpoint.

Now could an actual London-based team put fans in the seats for all eight/nine home-games, especially if they're having a losing season, that's another matter entirely.

Though part of me wants the Jets to move just so

could become a reality.

 

[ecemleafs]

its gotta be london. theyve played games in london for years now and there are quite a few nfl sized stadiums to choose from in london. nfl is big in the UK these days. its apparently big in germany too. will be interesting to see how the nfl games in germany are attended and how many of those fans are actually germans and not tourists.

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

Honestly, I find it really boring. All football fans I know in Canada are NFL guys, none really care for the CFL.

To be blunt its basically a league of cast offs, has beens and retreads.

You need to get out more, if you don't know any CFL fans.

 

[TheRumble]

Toronto won't be an NFL destination for a while

First, the NFL doesn't consider the Skydome an appropriate NFL stadium. The NFL is also notoriously stingy on spending private money to build new stadiums. A hypothetical Toronto owner would have to spend around $2 billion for the team and conservatively, another $1 billion for the stadium because Canada and Ontario does not love football that much. If it got out that in Doug Ford and/or John Tory and co. decided to set aside funds to build an NFL stadium after stealing $5 billion from the healthcare system, people would legitimately riot in Toronto.

Second, the Buffalo Bills have always laid a claim to Southern Ontario as their turf so they'd need to be compensated. I've heard that the Bills have anywhere from 10 to 20% of their tickets sales going to Canadians every year and most of them come from the GTA and Hamilton.

 

[GKJ]

There are no territorial rights in the NFL. The Bills having fans in Ontario means nothing, most would stay Bills fans but it’s different when a team claims a market as their own and is part of the city. If the billionaires ever had their shit together for a Toronto NFL team, they would be just fine.

 

[Voight]

its gotta be london. theyve played games in london for years now and there are quite a few nfl sized stadiums to choose from in london. nfl is big in the UK these days. its apparently big in germany too. will be interesting to see how the nfl games in germany are attended and how many of those fans are actually germans and not tourists.

NFLPA will never agree to it.

 

[GKJ]

NFLPA will never agree to it.

They don’t get a vote. And they would definitely agree even if they did.