Will there ever a NFL franchise outside of North America?

[AlexSmith5rings]

With all the "globalization" the NFL has been doing, is this the next thing on their mind? I imagine it would be a hard time for American players to want to play for a team in Europe or Asia, it would completely change their life.
http://www.helium.com/tm/662361/sunday-october-americas-teams
Mark Weller, Senior Vice President of sales and marketing for the NFL has a vision of teams based on different continents "by 2020" and even Super Bowls being staged overseas

[SC9erFan]

Only possible way it would happen is if supersonic passenger flight once again became a reality, but doesn't look like that's happening any time soon. The travel demands will dictate why it won't work.

[WhistlingMtn]

absolutely not.

Mexico City and Toronto are the only cities outside the US that have any shot at an NFL franchise.

[chief rocka]

As a European, I hope this doesn't happen...

The NFL London game could have sold out five times over but that's because it's a one-off event and was attended by fans of every team. Put a franchise in a country outside the US and people won't go. There's not enough fans in one area (or cash in peoples pocket) to support a team playing week in, week out. Look at NFLE an learn...

The NFL can't be that stupid, surely? :nonono:

[TheRedOct]

Hell no.

[Rocketknight73]

As a European, I hope this doesn't happen...

The NFL London game could have sold out five times over but that's because it's a one-off event and was attended by fans of every team. Put a franchise in a country outside the US and people won't go. There's not enough fans in one area (or cash in peoples pocket) to support a team playing week in, week out. Look at NFLE an learn...

The NFL can't be that stupid, surely? :nonono:Yes. They can.

I hope this never happens.

[snarpy]

I hope the NFL stays in the States... A team in Toronto will ruin the CFL, and a team overseas would ruin the NFL teams that play there (IMO)... I like the NFL the way it is, and the history is great too!

[Gof the Gij]

I could understand Toronto, but that's about it.

[snarpy]

You mean the one game that was played there? :laugh:

I mean if there happened to be a team there...

[AlexSmith5rings]

I definitely agree with all of you. I think it would be a huge mistake, and they would probably end up contracting the franchise anyway due to lack of support.

[49ers Ephon]

ouside the U.S? maybe hawaii, but i don't think they should

[BrentJones84]

Only possible way it would happen is if supersonic passenger flight once again became a reality, but doesn't look like that's happening any time soon. The travel demands will dictate why it won't work.

I agree.

Coaches and players over seas would be at a huge disadvantage.

[BrentJones84]

absolutely not.

Mexico City and Toronto are the only cities outside the US that have any shot at an NFL franchise.

Yup.

There is some speculation the Buffalo Bills might move to Toronto at some point, and I do believe the Bill are trying to at least play one game a year in Toronto. There was an article on SI.com about it last week.

[Nevyn]

With all the "globalization" the NFL has been doing, is this the next thing on their mind? I imagine it would be a hard time for American players to want to play for a team in Europe or Asia, it would completely change their life.
http://www.helium.com/tm/662361/sunday-october-americas-teams

At some point there will be a team in Canada or Mexico, but not necessarily soon. Further afield than that, I really doubt it.

[Nin£R_4_LifE]

hell no

[WildCardBound]

absolutely not.

Mexico City and Toronto are the only cities outside the US that have any shot at an NFL franchise.

Hell ****!ng no, i dont think a single player would want to play for a team out of mexico city. God that would suck.

Toronto maybe, but dont NBA players hate playing there do to some crazy taxing? I remember hearing something about that and how much they were losing from their salary that they would have had in the states.

[fabie]

Only possible way it would happen is if supersonic passenger flight once again became a reality, but doesn't look like that's happening any time soon. The travel demands will dictate why it won't work.We've had supersonic planes since the 70s.....never heard of concorde?

http://www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/AboutConcorde.html

[NinerRider]

If so, it'll be Hawaii or Mexico City. Across the Atlantic is a bit of a stretch.

[Ace Matherton]

Only possible way it would happen is if supersonic passenger flight once again became a reality, but doesn't look like that's happening any time soon. The travel demands will dictate why it won't work.

Huh?

So its the same distance from Hawaii to Louisiana Tech as it is London to Miami yet for NCAA athletes this travel is OK but for professionals its a bit much? Hawaii takes this type of trip 4+ times a year, a franchise in Frankfurt Germany has a 2.5 hour longer flight to any eastern city than what hawaii travels.

If a bunch of college students can do it yearly there is no way you can convince me the Pro's would have an issue with it. Many many athletes in the world travel 1/2 the world over every week just to compete, the NFL would be no different.

We've had supersonic planes since the 70s.....never heard of concorde?

http://www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/AboutConcorde.html

Unfortunately the concord was decommissioned in 2003 due to cost, low demand, and inability to opperate at sub sonic speads over US airways above land.

[berry42079]

i heard the bills are going to move to toronto because thats where all their fans come from anyway

[BrentJones84]

We've had supersonic planes since the 70s.....never heard of concorde?

http://www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/AboutConcorde.html

I guess you never heard they stopped flying them.

[BrentJones84]

Huh?

So its the same distance from Hawaii to Louisiana Tech as it is London to Miami yet for NCAA athletes this travel is OK but for professionals its a bit much? Hawaii takes this type of trip 4+ times a year, a franchise in Frankfurt Germany has a 2.5 hour longer flight to any eastern city than what hawaii travels.

If a bunch of college students can do it yearly there is no way you can convince me the Pro's would have an issue with it. Many many athletes in the world travel 1/2 the world over every week just to compete, the NFL would be no different.



Unfortunately the concord was decommissioned in 2003 due to cost, low demand, and inability to opperate at sub sonic speads over US airways above land.

But what about West Coast teams?

Flying from SF, Seattle, San Diego, etc to London or Berlin would be a very, very long flight.

And the players may not mind, but you better bet the coaches would cry foul.

[BrentJones84]

I don't see that happening, they have a great fan base.

But the face base isn't big enough to keep the money rolling in.

The Bills are regarded as a small market team, and the Bills owner has been complaing for years now about how his team doesn't make the big money other teams make (of course, perhaps actually winning more than 8 games a season might help him out).

anyhow, here is the story:

http://sportsline.com/nfl/story/10427673

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Bills owner Ralph Wilson made his case Tuesday for Buffalo to play an annual regular-season home game in Toronto, and now it's up to NFL owners to determine whether there's potential north of the border.

The plan is for the Bills to annually play one regular-season and one preseason game in Toronto starting in 2008 and lasting through 2012, which is the duration of the franchise's lease at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

[scottish9er]

As a European, I hope this doesn't happen...

The NFL London game could have sold out five times over but that's because it's a one-off event and was attended by fans of every team. Put a franchise in a country outside the US and people won't go. There's not enough fans in one area (or cash in peoples pocket) to support a team playing week in, week out. Look at NFLE an learn...

The NFL can't be that stupid, surely? :nonono:

Oh yes they can. They put a team in Scotland and thought they could fill a 65,000 seater stadium and be the top sport in the country. This included the idea they could attract bigger crowds than our national soccer team, rugby team and the 2 oldest and largest domestic soccer teams in the UK. So.............yeah they could definitely be that stupid.

[Miner49er92]

Hopefully not. It's called the NFL for a reason.

[Gof the Gij]

if anything punish fans like Jacksonville with a huge city, new team, and they have like 5 blackouts a year.

Sort of like Oakland:cool:

[FightForEveryTD]

Itll never happen because the team will fail because there will be no consisent fans, players wont want to live outside the USA, NFL fans will not like it, and having a superbowl over seas will show that the NFL does not care about its country because it will take 200-300 million dollars away from an american city.

[Hobbes2d]

There could be, but I hope to God there isn't. NFL is fooling themselves if they think there is a market. Playing an occasional game overseas or in another country is fine, but don't put a pro franchise somewhere else. It wouldn't work.