Since the NHL is going to expand (and probably adopt an NFL-like alignment of 2 conferences with 4 divisions as well), and the NBA and MLB would do well to follow suit to reach a symmetrical 32 teams, speculation about expansion in all North American sports leagues has risen.
The NFL has never lacked suitors to become part of its league, but what is unique about the present group of wooers is that one is not based in North America.
It is none other than London, UK where the NFL has played an annual regular season game for over a decade.
Obviously the game has grown in popularity because London is no longer satisfied with having one regular season game, but wants a team of its own. There is even talk of staging the Super Bowl in Wembley Stadium.
So is a London NFL franchise feasible?
No North American sports league has ever tried to set up a franchise located outside of the continent and any attempt to do so will be closely watched by the NBA, MLB, and particularly the NHL.
What are some the issues confronting such a possibility?
Population and Market
Clearly, there’s no problem here. In fact London has the best market of all NFL suitors, including Los Angeles which has a metropolitan area of approximately 13 million.
Depending on the census source, metropolitan London has a population on the low end of 7 1/2 million to a high of 15 million.
But if a London franchise is set up, the NFL is not merely marketing to London but to the whole British Isles, and attracting attention from continental Europe as well. This is a market of 60 million+ and makes all other markets look puny by comparison.
Travel
This always seems to be the first problem listed whenever a league wants to set up a franchise outside of North America. The wealthy franchises of the NFL shouldn’t have that much of an issue with the overall costs associated with traveling overseas.
Nor should time be a problem. There is always at least four days between games for each team so there is time for players to go to the UK and North America and become climatized before game day. No player has complained about playing in London before and clever scheduling should resolve the matter to make travel feasible.
Living Conditions and Culture Shock
It would probably be easier for American players to live in London than in Montreal, Quebec City, and Mexico City because there is no language barrier. European players coming to the NHL face greater problems. If they can handle it then so can American players going in the opposite direction. In Canada at the junior hockey level, some families offer to take in European and American players so that they can have a home and continue their schooling while playing in the CHL. While there will be some culture shock, the gap between the UK and the US has closed considerably since the Beatles came to North America in 1964. There should not be much problem for rich American football players. Expect some “No trade to London” grumbling though.
Franchise Location
A London franchise would obviously have to be located in one of the two eastern divisions in the NFL. Since the Dallas Cowboys would probably object to an annual long flight to London, (What is Dallas doing in the NFC East anyway?) bet that a London team would be located in the AFC East as an annual rival for the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets. London should at least be great rivals with the latter two teams.
And London makes sense as an eastern expansion team. Except for Toronto, Montreal, and possibly a second New England team, there are no more suitable cities in the far eastern United States for the NFL to expand to. In fact, without the option of European franchises, the NFL might be forced to realign its “traditional” divisions which it does not want to do to accommodate a future 40-team league.
So is a London team feasible? Probably, at least for an experiment. At its best, it could be the prelude to a whole European NFL conference.
Prediction:
The NFL will not expand to London this time. Their heart is fixed on Los Angeles, and there are too many other good North American cities like San Antonio, Oklahoma City, the possibility of a second Los Angeles franchise, and Portland to accommodate. The NFL also has a noticeable arrogance to non-American cities. They will chicken out this time. But once the NFL starts expanding again, it will continue until it reaches the next symmetrical number of 40. Expect London to be one of that group.
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