Commissioner: No abroad Tremendous Bowl coming till NFL provides international market
The NFL has stood at 32 groups because the Texans’ 2002 entrance. That enlargement effort realigned the divisions and schedule, and the league has expressed satisfaction with the symmetry created. No enlargement is probably going within the close to future, however how the league subsequent expands will ultimately turn out to be a extra necessary subject.
If the NFL is to balloon past 32 groups, SI.com’s Albert Breer believes a international market would come earlier than one other American metropolis lands a group. Rumors of a London group have dissipated over the previous a number of years, although Roger Goodell has continued to pay lip service to what can be a historic (and difficult) growth. Extra of that emerged Monday, with the veteran commissioner’s wording bringing this example again into play.
The topic of an abroad Tremendous Bowl surfaced months in the past, as Goodell advised such a transfer was potential. When requested about it Monday, Goodell stated no abroad Tremendous Bowl will probably be thought-about whereas the league continues to be a USA-only operation. Nonetheless, Goodell added (through CBS Sports activities’ Jonathan Jones) that it might be on the desk “if and when” the NFL locations a group abroad.
Logistical points have loomed as a deterrent for a full-time group in London, however the NFL has each extra worldwide inroads and altered its calendar regardless of these lately. An nameless proprietor additionally described a future through which a world division emerges as possible, although we nonetheless seem a great distance off.
The 2021 season launched a Monday-night wild-card sport, and this season — after the 2020 and 2021 seasons introduced COVID-19-driven reschedulings to supply a roadmap of kinds — debuted Wednesday video games. The NFL can also be aiming for play eight worldwide video games in 2025, with Spain assured a sport. Australia is additionally on-deck right here. Whereas London would make extra sense as a franchise location, the NFL has executed lots to point it’s critical about persevering with to develop the sport past U.S. borders.
Further enlargement would create points relating to schedule stability, and except the league would need a repeat of the unusual setup it concocted when it added solely Browns 2.0 in 1999, a couple of group would should be added in an enlargement situation. When the NFL awarded Cleveland its present franchise, an odd group rely existed from 1999-2001. The 31-team interval meant each week required a minimum of one group to be on a bye. This launched the unusual setups through which Week 1 was a bye for a group and so forth.
The Texans’ debut solved that difficulty, and the NFL navigated the additional regular-season sport by alternating seasons by way of which convention holds the additional residence sport. Inside the close to future, a plan for 16 worldwide video games — one thing Goodell reiterated right this moment — may cowl the convention tasked with taking part in 9 street contests that yr. Whereas the league stays a methods off from taking part in this many abroad video games in a season, Goodell persevering with to convey up putting a group in a international market successfully entrenches this matter on the again burner as soon as once more.
