Goodell: The NFL will become very global. More international games over the next 10 years.

[billsfan89]

The NFL has to become more global if they want that corporate growth level that all big organizations want. The NFL is king domestically there is not that much more growth in the US market relatively speaking. The NFL has opportunities in the UK, Germany and Mexico for expansion as they have been making inroads in those markets.

 

They will not only have to grow the interest in those markets but also find 2-3 more big markets to try to break into. It’s just business.

[Wayne Arnold]

Rich and powerful people ruin everything good in the world.

[CodeMonkey]

Has been the dream of the more-money NFL for quite a while now.

There just isn't much interest outside of the US except with displaced Americans.

Tackle football is just a curiosity at best outside the US and Canada.

The NFL keeps trying to change that like FIFA is trying to make football (soccer) popular in the US. Neither is having much success so far.

[GunnerBill]

On 12/6/2023 at 2:30 PM, Lost said:

Drop a preseason game, make season 18 games and each team to play 2 International games.   Sick of seeing teams like the Bills get shafted a home game to go play in London or elsewhere.  

 

I mean this was literally the first time the Bills gave up a home game to play an international series game. 

[NC-billsfan!]

The NFL’s product on the field is trending in a poor direction. Between the gambling and refs, the product looks tarnished to me. Bottom line, if you try to sell this to someone who isn’t already a fan I don’t think you’re going to have a successful go. Move to full time refs, who call competent games, get rid of gambling (I know it’s never happening) and I can see international succeeding.

[PBF81]

On 12/7/2023 at 3:15 PM, billsfan89 said:

The NFL has to become more global if they want that corporate growth level that all big organizations want. The NFL is king domestically there is not that much more growth in the US market relatively speaking. The NFL has opportunities in the UK, Germany and Mexico for expansion as they have been making inroads in those markets.

 

They will not only have to grow the interest in those markets but also find 2-3 more big markets to try to break into. It’s just business.

 

It'll be interesting to see where the foreign interest is when they have their own team rather than seeing two established teams play in a particular city one or twice a year.  Will they sell out like they do if they have a mediocre team.  

 

They probably would given how the game/league is geared towards corporate interests these days.  

 

 

19 hours ago, CodeMonkey said:

Has been the dream of the more-money NFL for quite a while now.

 

Yeah, it was maybe seven or eight years ago I think that the league said it would have its first international team by '22 or '23, around now.  

 

I can't recall if they said it would be England or what.  

 

 

[Lost]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I mean this was literally the first time the Bills gave up a home game to play an international series game. 

 

True, but it's happening to other teams too.   If the intent is to really expand the international market then each team playing 2 games seems fair.    Also, I just hate the odd numbered game season of 17.   We had 9 teams play international this year with Jags twice.  So those teams effectively had 8 home games, 8 away and 1 neutral games.  Of the remaining 23 teams, 11 had the advantage of an extra home game.  No other sports league plays an odd number of games and honestly I'd be perfectly happy to have next season start a week earlier to get a fresh start after this letdown year. 

[BearNorth]

11 minutes ago, Lost said:

Also, I just hate the odd numbered game season of 17.  

The players union will have to agree to 18 games.  That will probably require either expanded rosters and/or practice squads, and a larger salary cap and it's doubtful the union will settle for a mere 1/17 (5.9%) increase in the cap to allow this massive revenue generator for the owners.

[GunnerBill]

2 hours ago, Lost said:

 

True, but it's happening to other teams too.   If the intent is to really expand the international market then each team playing 2 games seems fair.    Also, I just hate the odd numbered game season of 17.   We had 9 teams play international this year with Jags twice.  So those teams effectively had 8 home games, 8 away and 1 neutral games.  Of the remaining 23 teams, 11 had the advantage of an extra home game.  No other sports league plays an odd number of games and honestly I'd be perfectly happy to have next season start a week earlier to get a fresh start after this letdown year. 

 

Yea I hate 17 as a number. And the way they get to it feels very manufactured.

[ChasBB]

Not thrilled about the Intl games.  If the rest of the world wants to watch American football then create your own damn league(s) and then we can play each other in some sort of World Playoffs with a World Bowl.  Until then, no thanks.

[Zag20]

Why be happy with billions of profits, when trillions are out there?

[Nextmanup]

On 12/6/2023 at 9:30 AM, Lost said:

Drop a preseason game, make season 18 games and each team to play 2 International games.   Sick of seeing teams like the Bills get shafted a home game to go play in London or elsewhere.  

DROP ALL pre-season games and take it from there.  They are a joke and badly outdated. 

 

 

[GunnerBill]

16 hours ago, PBF81 said:

 

It'll be interesting to see where the foreign interest is when they have their own team rather than seeing two established teams play in a particular city one or twice a year.  Will they sell out like they do if they have a mediocre team.  

 

They probably would given how the game/league is geared towards corporate interests these days.  

 

 

London would absolutely sell out a team now at 8 games a year. And I have been sceptical about that in the past, because most NFL fans here have "a team" and are not suddenly going to make the London Jags or whoever their team just because they are based here. But the level of demand at the moment is insane and they would sell out Tottenham and 60,000 seats 8 times a year without a doubt. Whatever Goodell's test of readiness for that is, London is ready. 

 

Would they continue to do it 5 or 10 years down the line if the team sucked once the initial enthusiasm died away? Who knows, but that is a risk in any new market.

 

There are, of course, lots of good reasons why a permanent franchise in London is still a bad idea. And the 'experiment' the NFL played on the Bills this year proves that. There is a significant competitive disadvantage to a team that has been out there 2/3 weeks playing one that has only been out there a few days and I don't know how you get around that. Then there is the tax position. If it was ever going to happen then the last 14 years of Conservative rule when a nod and a wink for rich Americans wanting a tax loophole might have been looked upon favourably was the time. That isn't something that would fly with a likely incoming Labour Government at some time next year and the dissary the Tories are in they could be out of power for some time.

 

I'm sure there are others too. I wonder slightly if the NFL itself is now less convinced on the permanent London franchise model in any event. I think Goodell's ideal is lots of different host cities and the "17th" game for every team essentially becoming a neutral site game. So each season every team plays 8 home, 8 road, 1 international game. You need 16 venues for that. 3 in London, 2 in Germany, 2 in Mexico (all numbers they have done before without any expansion in their current territories) gets you to 7, suddenly you are halfway there. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by GunnerBill

[BADOLBILZ]

20 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I mean this was literally the first time the Bills gave up a home game to play an international series game. 

 

 

Well that may be the case but they've played a lot of non-home home games in Toronto.

[GunnerBill]

Just now, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Well that may be the case but they've played a lot of non-home home games in Toronto.

 

Yes but that wasn't because of the international series. Can't blame them for that.

[BADOLBILZ]

16 hours ago, Lost said:

 

True, but it's happening to other teams too.   If the intent is to really expand the international market then each team playing 2 games seems fair.    Also, I just hate the odd numbered game season of 17.   We had 9 teams play international this year with Jags twice.  So those teams effectively had 8 home games, 8 away and 1 neutral games.  Of the remaining 23 teams, 11 had the advantage of an extra home game.  No other sports league plays an odd number of games and honestly I'd be perfectly happy to have next season start a week earlier to get a fresh start after this letdown year. 

 

 

They don't want to start on the holiday and summer ratings promise to be lower than fall ratings.........that's why the season starts the week after.   

 

The direction the league needs to move is toward March.    

[BADOLBILZ]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yes but that wasn't because of the international series. Can't blame them for that.

 

Point being that they were ALREADY giving home games away to spread interest internationally at the expense of a home game every season during that stretch.     

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Point being that they were ALREADY giving home games away to spread interest internationally at the expense of a home game every season during that stretch.     

 

But it was the Bills decision to do that. Nobody was making them.

[GunnerBill]

13 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

They don't want to start on the holiday and summer ratings promise to be lower than fall ratings.........that's why the season starts the week after.   

 

The direction the league needs to move is toward March.    

 

And didn't they get at the time record draft viewing figures the one year they went all out for a draft in May (think it was 2014)? 

 

If they moved the Superbowl back a week, and punted FA to the last week in March and then the draft first week in May then opened training camps 1 August and had zero pre-season they could do it possibly. 

 

I don't think they have a lot of space to move anywhere (forward or back) without losing something though, and the thing that everyone agrees can go is more pre-season games. 

[Billy Claude]

If one is going for the least disruption and maximum fairness, just  go to 16 international games and an extra bye week,  six games  in England, three in Germany, three in Mexico and 4 others in random places around the world. Everyone has an international game so it would just count as a neutral site game and you would have the extra bye week before that game.

 

Of course, the league has shown that they care nothing for fairness.  Its amazing that they haven't extracted that extra dollar out and have a Monday night game on week 18.