Insider believes a Saudi-owned NFL team is a future possibility

In the aftermath of the merger between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed enterprise of LIV Golf, many have wondered if the NFL needs to worry about Saudi Arabia potentially shifting its eyes toward professional football.

And while that notion seems a bit farfetched at this point, SI.com’s Albert Breer believes that the possibility of a future Saudi-owned NFL team is not off the table.

“I hit up a couple team president types…I don’t think it’s out of line to consider the idea that they could someday bid on an NFL team, and maybe even buy one,” Breer wrote. “…As of right now, I can’t imagine NFL owners would approve such a purchase. … But eventually, that well (of people who can afford to buy a team) will run dry, and the league will have to change its rules, and probably welcome in parties that it traditionally wouldn’t to keep raising the stakes on what these teams are worth. Which is where the Saudis would eventually have their shot.”

Breer’s ultimate point is simple: eventually, everything and everyone has a price.

Existing NFL rules prohibit foreign entities from investing in franchises. However, if the league’s bottom line were to greatly benefit, the NFL could presumably consider amending those regulations. The league would also have to worry about push-back from the other team owners, should Saudi Arabia petition to bid on a franchise for sale.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns LIV Golf and English Premier League team Newcastle United, has invested heavily in  the professional sports sphere. Breaking into the North American sports scene would have an obvious appeal for the group.