Roger Goodell Says A London Franchise Might Be Possible With Expansion

NFL fans engaged in a question and answer session with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in London on Saturday. According to Brad Biggs of the National Football Post, he discussed the possibility of expanding with a franchise here in the United Kingdom at some point, the kind of long-range planning that is possible now for the league with the ink still fresh on a 10-year collective bargaining agreement. Goodell said the goal is to have two regular-season games here starting in 2012 and the league is looking for ways to strengthen its fan support here. “Thirty-two has been a great number for us,â€￾ Goodell said. “It works from a scheduling standpoint. What we want to do is make sure all of our teams continue to be successful. The greatest thing about the CBA is it’s 10 years so it gives you an opportunity to really plan into the future and that’s a big plus for us and that also may include expansion at some point. When we know we have the stability of understanding the system over that period of time, that’s going to benefit everybody. Who knows? Expansion may be the way we need to do it over here internationally. It might be the best solution for us. So I don’t think anything is off the table. It has not been a major focus for us in the past but now with this labor agreement, it might be.â€￾

Source: The Redzone

 

Goodell needs to give this up. Less than a quarter of the NFL games played this year have been sellouts. He needs to worry about the product here in the States first, then think about expanding the product to other markets.

 

I think expansion is a plausible idea I DO NOT THINK expanding to London is logistically sound though.

 

NO NO NO NO EXPANSION...FREAK NO!

 

NFL teams make a CRAP TON of money, I dont see why expansion is inplausible or even a bad idea. As long as that expansion doesn't include going overseas

 

My stance to expansion is the same to the 18 game regular seasons, don't try to fix something that doesn't need fixing. It good as it is, don't heck it up.

And a London NFL franchise has absolutely no chance of success, none. The NFL has had a presence here for five years now, and guess what, nothings changed, interest is basically the same, participation is the same, media coverage is the same (next to zero). It's completely unfeasible and doomed.

Still, it wouldn't shock me if the Tampa Bay Glazers make UK its permanent home.

 

Bucs ain't going anywhere. http://gridironfans.com/forums/latest-nfl-headlines/170684-buccaneers-gm-mark-dominik-says-team-not.html

And the part that makes this whole story bullcrap is there's no way in hell you could have just one team over there. There would have to be 2 or even 4 to make it even worth doing financially.

 

Well there would just have to be 2 or 4 in Europe they wouldn't all have to be in London or Britain but yes. I think if the NFL expands it should be in North America

 

You know that's what i meant.

 

I just think what the heck is the jetlag going to be like going to Europe and than to NA repeatedly each year...


Its not logistically really possible

 

This and as it looks from here, interest is declining.

 

I blame it on NFLUK, they've done nothing to expand the game further than the original fanbase. They seemingly thought that having the game alone would be enough to bring the game through to the masses.

 

Is Goodell thinking about the jet lag for the visiting teams that go overseas? No, of course NOT!

 

Goodell is thinking about nothing but himself

 

I'm all for expanding the NFL BUT Goodell needs to be realistic here and not talk out of his butt.

 

If there was a way to do it that wouldn't cause severe jet lag for every team in the NFL go for it, but you need a difinitive plan

 

Heres another question for Goodell. What division would that overseas team be in?

 

The International Division :)

 

If interest is declining overseas, I don't know how in the hell Goodell sees dollar signs out of this. It's bad enough that not every team here in the states sells out their home games. If Goodell put an NFL team overseas and it's a failed experiment in 5 years or less, the joke will be on him.

 

Because it will be their own...lol.