Roger Goodell discusses the potential of NFL franchise overseas
An overseas NFL expansion has always seemed like a pipe dream, but commissioner Roger Goodell is keeping the door open.
"It's possible," Goodell said when asked about possible expansion while speaking with Mike Tirico of NBC Sports ahead of Thursday night's season opener between the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions.
"The debate we've always tried to work on is if you can do it competitively and do it in a way where it's fair, not only for that team but every team," Goodell said.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have long been the guinea pig for overseas expansion, having played nine games in London, England since 2013. For a time, many thought the Jaguars might move to England permanently, though that never came to fruition.
If the NFL ultimately expands by moving a team overseas or granting a city an expansion squad, having only one team playing so far away from the others creates some obvious problems.
For one, scheduling would be a nightmare, generating an unfair balance for any new team from the jump. The easy solution would be adding more than one team, perhaps a division's worth. Maybe even an international division featuring Mexico, Canada and two cities overseas. However, that produces a different issue. Scheduling would still be complicated, and where will these teams come from? The NFL isn't moving four franchises, and adding more than two expansion teams would seriously water down the league's player pool.
There's no easy answer, but whether a permanent team pops up across the pond or not, overseas games during the NFL regular season are seemingly here to stay.
Since 2007, the NFL has held games in London, drawing respectable attendance. In October 2022, the Denver Broncos and Jaguars drew 86,215 fans to Wembley Stadium, the highest since the NFL began holding annual games there. This year, the Jaguars will make their annual pilgrimage to England, taking on the Atlanta Falcons (Week 4) and Buffalo Bills (Week 5) before the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans (Week 6) close out the 2023 series.
Meanwhile, the NFL also started a series of contests in Germany last season, with the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicking things off, drawing 69,811 fans to Allianz Arena in Munich. In November, Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany, will host two games, starting with the Miami Dolphins against the Kansas City Chiefs (Week 9) before the Indianapolis Colts take on the New England Patriots (Week 10).
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